Wedding Bells
by NikkiB1973
Summary: Bella gets drunk on her wedding day, very drunk indeed! Set at beginning of Breaking Dawn, AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer

 _ **A/N-set at beginning of Breaking Dawn, AU.**_

"Nervous?" Renee asked her daughter as she carefully adjusted Bella's wedding veil and smoothed down the satin skirts of the designer dress.

"Yes." Bella said softly as she did her best not to let her eyes well up with tears. This was her big day; she wasn't going to let anything spoil it, especially not worry over her missing best friend. Alice had spent ages doing her makeup and wouldn't like to see her efforts spoiled. Even Rosalie had got involved, although her advice about remembering where the back door was if she wanted to escape had not gone down well with Alice. Bella took in a deep breath and tried to contain her anxiety. She had been forced into some high heels for the special occasion and she was worried about tripping head first into the guests as she made her way down the aisle. She would really need to lean on Charlie and go very slowly so that didn't happen. "Oh, I wish this part was over. I hate being the centre of attention."

"You'll love it when you get up there." Renee assured her. "Just focus on Edward and everything will be fine, although this might help steady your nerves." Renee glanced behind her to make sure that no one else was in hearing distance. She slipped a silver flask out of her handbag and passed it to Bella. "Drink this."

"What is it?" Bella opened the screwcap and sniffed the contents carefully. Her nose wrinkled at the strong smell. "Is this alcohol? Mom I don't drink." She tried to give the flask back to her mother but Renee wouldn't take it.

"Drink it, baby girl. It's your Grandma's concoction. She made me some the day I got married to your dad, believe me it completely obliterated my whole memory of the day." Renee laughed to herself.

"Weren't you pregnant with me at the time?" Bella huffed indignantly. "Thanks a lot."

"Oh pull your head in, baby girl. I was not pregnant despite the rumours that went around at the time. Just because your father and I got married quickly doesn't mean that I was up the duff. No, you happened on the honeymoon…I don't really remember much about that either." Renee patted Bella's flat stomach. "There's nothing hiding in there, is there?" She suddenly demanded suspiciously. "That isn't why you're marrying him, is it? Mmmm?"

"Mom, I'm marrying for love. I'm a…a…a…virgin." Bella gasped. Her cheeks burned as she blushed vociferously.

"Virgin?" Renee groaned. "You mean you didn't road test him first. Bella, have I taught you nothing? What if he's useless between the sheets? You'll be shackled to a frozen…."

"MOM, no more. I'll drink it, I will." Bella felt like she was going to combust with mortification. She quickly held the flask to her lips and downed the lot in one go. "WOAH!" The kickback was strong. Bella bent double as she started coughing.

"You're supposed to sip it, not down it." Renee hissed as she patted Bella on the back. Charlie had come rushing into the room to see what all the fuss was about. He was alarmed to see his daughter bent over and gasping for breath.

"Is she ill? Is she being sick?" Charlie's concerned expression suddenly changed to one of pure happiness as he hunkered down in front of his daughter who was still trying to catch her breath. "If the thought of marrying him makes you sick, kiddo. Then don't do it. I'll break the news to him with pleasure."

"She is not being sick." Renee rolled her eyes at all the theatrics. "She's just a bit winded."

Charlie's face showed his disappointment. "Are you sure?" He asked his ex-wife.

"Very sure." Renee helped Bella to stand upright and began to adjust her daughter's veil again. "You better wait by the aisle; we'll be out in a minute." She said testily to Charlie who looked as if he was going to get down on his knees and pray that the wedding wouldn't take place. Really he was being an idiot. Renee watched him amble away, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his morning suit, muttering under his breath. She guessed it was about her but she didn't care. "You alright now?" She asked Bella softly.

"Um…." Bella licked her lips; she could still taste the alcohol on her tongue. Whatever it was it was strong stuff. She could feel herself already surrounded by a calm haze of drunkenness. She smiled at her mother and giggled. All her anxieties had fallen away in an instant. "What was in that flask?" She whispered loudly.

"Hush, baby girl." Renee shushed her. "It's a secret recipe your Grandma passed down to me. One day I'll let you know, but not right now."

"Can I have some more?" Bella held onto Renee's shoulders as she swayed in the heels.

Renee's lips thinned as she thought about whether it was a good idea to give Bella anymore, but it had seemed to have dampened Bella's worries, in fact she was almost mellow with happiness. A little more couldn't hurt. Renee dug around in her shoulder bag and pulled out another bottle and quickly refilled the silver flask. She took a long swig herself before handing it to her daughter. "Sip it, remember. Otherwise you'll be falling at Edward's feet."

"Yes, yes." Bella took the flask and waved at Renee as her mother left to join the other guests. She giggled to herself as she took another long drink from the flask. She was prepared for the kickback this time and she enjoyed the feel of the strong alcohol sliding down her throat and settling nicely in her stomach. All her worries and fears seemed to have melted away along with the drink. She was now ready for anything. Bella tried to take a step forward and nearly hit the deck as she tottered around in her ridiculously high heels. "Stoopid shoes." She mumbled as she kicked them off. "That's better." Bella sighed in bliss as she stretched her toes which had been confined in the uncomfortable shoes.

Alice popped her head into the room. She was done up in the most bizarre dress Bella had ever seen. Edward's sister had been keeping her designer bridesmaid dress a secret until the big day. She wanted to surprise Bella she said, well it was definitely a surprise. Bella closed one eye as she squinted at the bright dress; it was lacy with lots of silly flouncy ruffles. "You look like an orange." Bella pronounced baldly.

A hurt expression crossed Alice's face as she smoothed down the silly ruffles and fluffed her black hair with the orange headband. The headband did in fact have fruit attached at a jaunty angle. Bella snorted with laughter as she reached out and pulled off one of the orange coloured berries. "I was feeling hungry." She opened her mouth to pop the berry in when Alice snatched it from her.

"What is wrong with you, Bella?" Alice whined. "First you insult my dress, which cost hundreds of dollars by the way, and now you are trying to eat part of my plastic headband. Is this some type of joke? Did Rosalie put you up to this?"

Bella shook her head. "Nope." The sound of the wedding march starting up startled her. She put her hands over her ears. "That's too loud."

"Come on." Alice grabbed Bella's hand and shoved a bouquet of white roses into her other one before pulling her out of the room and toward the winding staircase. It wasn't until they'd reached the bottom of the stairs that she noticed Bella's feet were bare, but it was too late to protest. The huge glass doors of the Cullen's palatial mansion were wide open and they were in full view of all the guests. Bella blinked like a rabbit staring at an oncoming car as Alice practically shoved her outside and steered her toward a disgruntled Charlie.

"Last chance to stop this farce." Charlie whispered as he put her hand on his arm.

"Huh?" Bella's head was feeling very fuzzy. She wasn't quite sure what her father was saying, all she knew was that she needed some more to drink, she was feeling very thirsty all of a sudden. She stared at the sea of curious faces which were all gazing at her as they waited for her to walk down the aisle. "Wait." She mumbled as she fumbled with the silver flask which she had hidden in the waistband of her dress. Charlie watched in stunned silence as his daughter took a huge swig from the flask before burping slightly as the liquid trickled down her throat. "That's better." She hid the flask back in her belt.

"What the hell was that?" Charlie whispered.

"Water." Bella smiled at him beatifically as she began to march down the aisle. Charlie was unprepared at her sudden move and he ended up chasing after her as she laughed and waved at all the guests as she passed. "Hey, Mike." She bellowed as she caught sight of Mike Newton sitting next to Jessica. She saw him fidget nervously and tug at the collar of his shirt. Jessica glared at her, she was trussed up in some kind of pink ensemble, and it was horrible. Bella snorted with laughter. "Don't forget to road test first guys" She yelled. She carried on striding down the aisle, it was so much better in bare feet. She noticed Angela and Eric; she waved at them, picking up the cumbersome skirts of her wedding dress which were impeding her movement. She lifted it so high her garter was on show. A ripple of laughter went through the guests.

"Bella." Alice hissed as she quickly pulled the skirts of the dress back down. What are you doing?"

Charlie was just walking beside his daughter looking completely bemused. If he didn't know better he would think Bella was drunk. But no, she didn't even partake of the eggnog at Christmas. Perhaps she had knocked her head. Charlie frowned as he studied her carefully. That would be grounds to cancel this absurd wedding wouldn't it, if his daughter was not the full ticket because of a head injury?

Bella was having a great time. She saw Seth, Sue and Billy all sitting together in the second row. Her face lit up at the sight of them. Instead of continuing toward the alter she veered off and began to shove her way through the narrow gaps, forcing the guests to clamber out of her way. The long skirts of her dress hit some of them in the face. From far away she heard Alice talking and then Edward's voice as he called out to her. But Bella ignored them all. She was focused on her target. "Hello there, guys." She babbled when she reached Seth and the others.

"Um…hey, Bella." Seth greeted her awkwardly. Billy and Sue just gawked at her as if she was crazy.

"Sethy, Sethy." Bella scrambled to his side, leaned down and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "Have you heard from Jakey boy yet?" Her brown eyes caked in heavy mascara began to pool with tears as she suddenly recalled her absent best friend. She yanked at her veil as it was getting in the way. "I miss him you know, he should be here." Her happiness suddenly turned to despair and she began to blub all over poor Seth, who stared around helplessly, begging for help with his eyes. "Where is he?" Her makeup ran down her cheeks and she used the end of the veil to dab at her eyes. "Billy." She turned her sad eyes onto Jacob's father instead when Seth didn't answer. "Where is Jakey? I didn't mean to hurt him. I didn't. I'm a bad Bella. Bad."

Suddenly Bella felt a cold hand touch her arm; she whirled round, knocking Seth in the face with her elbow as she came face to face with her soon to be husband. Charlie was hovering behind her fiancé, looking irritated at Edward's sudden interference. "Where's Jakey?" Bella bellowed at Edward as he tried to steer her away from the gaping crowd. "Did you send him off, Eddie? Did you?" Bella slurred as she jabbed him in his hard chest. "Ow, my finger." More drunken tears welled in her eyes as she held her throbbing finger in her good hand.

"Bella, please." Edward begged her. "You are making an exhibition of yourself." He sniffed her discreetly and his eyes darkened. "Have you been imbibing alcohol?" He demanded under his breath.

"I jus' had a little drinky." Bella pulled out the silver flask and before he could stop her she drank some more of the soothing liquid. "That's better." She popped the lid back on and glared at Edward again. "Now, you answer me, did you send Jakey boy off? I know you can be a jealous troll, I ain't stoopid." She tapped herself on the head. "Mom was right. I should have road tested you first, or I maybe I shoulda road tested Jakey boy instead." She muttered.

"Baby girl." Bella turned her head to see a shame faced Renee standing behind her. "Come with me, sweetie. You need to get some fresh air away from all these prying eyes." She grabbed hold of her swaying daughter and with Charlie helping they led Bella away from the amused guests toward a little tow path. It wound its way past the alter toward a little grove between the trees which surrounded the Cullen's mansion. Edward had been forced to stay behind while he dealt with the guests and tried to explain away the situation.

"What the hell is going on here?" Charlie huffed as he steadied Bella with one hand while he locked eyes with his ex-wife. "Is Bella drunk?"

"Oh, I only gave her a little of my Grandma's special recipe to soothe the nerves. It was the same stuff I drank on my wedding day." Renee said defensively.

"You are unbelievable, woman." Charlie retorted.

"Pull your head in." Renee snapped. "I thought you would be pleased. You didn't want her to get married and now she obviously can't, not today anyway."

Suddenly Charlie's anger vanished. "That's very true. Well done, Renee." He congratulated her instead.

"Don't be a fool. I never meant for her to get paralytic. She was supposed to drink just enough to steady her nerves." Renee sighed heavily.

Bella was still weaving all over the place as she babbled on about Jacob under her breath. "Damn boy, just upped and left. So rude. S'posed to be my bestest bud, but no." She wagged her finger at an imaginary Jacob. "Off he goes and leaves me."

"What is she mumbling about?" Renee cupped her daughters face in her hands and peered into her eyes. Bella stared blearily back at her. "Oh, baby girl you are going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning."

"Where's Jakey?" Bella pouted as tears pooled in her eyes again.

"I'm here." All three of them were startled as Jacob suddenly came striding out of the trees into the open. He was barefoot but dressed in an open necked white shirt and a pair of dark jeans.

"Where the hell have you been?" Charlie demanded.

Bella shoved her way past Charlie as her face lit up with joy. "There you are!" She held out her arms and staggered a couple of steps before tripping over her the long skirts of her dress and falling at his feet.

 _ **A/N-really needed to write something light hearted, my stories have been so dark lately. Thanks for reading!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews!**_

 **Part Two**

Bella laughed hysterically as she rolled onto her back. For some reason she found everything extremely funny. She grinned up at Jacob as he loomed over her. "Bells." He said huskily as he peered down at her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm more than alright now that you're here." Bella reached up and grabbed his hand. "C'mere." She tugged on his hand until he was kneeling beside her on the ground, he had a bemused look on his face as if he didn't know whether to be angry with her or amused at her antics. This wasn't what he had expected when he had dashed home in time for the wedding. "You remember when we made snow angels in the snow?" Bella babbled as her eyes became misty with memories. "Let's make mud angels?"

"Bells, have you knocked your head again?" Jacob felt a lump come into his throat. He didn't think she would remember something like that. When they were very young and Bella came to visit they would head outside if it was snowing, roll on the ground and move their arms and legs to make snow angels. It had been his mom's idea. Sarah used to kid around with them and join in the fun.

"Come on, Jake." Bella tugged at his hand again.

"You're going to ruin your dress." Jacob pointed out at as he resisted her for a moment.

"Who cares about the stupid dress?" Bella replied dismissively.

Jacob couldn't hold his laughter in this time. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but right now he didn't care. He hadn't seen Bella like this in a long time. Right in that moment she was his Bella, there was no sign of the leech's influence at all. He didn't want to let the moment go, so he caved in, rolled on his back and joined her on the ground. "Ready?" He said as he looked into her beautiful, brown eyes. The mascara had run down her cheeks and her lipstick was smeared across her face, she looked utterly adorable.

"I'm ready." Bella smiled as she locked eyes with him and began to move.

* * *

Charlie and Renee stared at Jacob and Bella as they laughed and kidded around. Charlie had been about to remonstrate with Jacob about his disappearing act and how much he had worried everyone, but Renee had put a hand on his arm and stopped him. She was staring at her daughter and Billy's son in wonder. Charlie frowned at her for a moment before he too took the time to watch.

"I've never seen this side to Bella before." Renee whispered to her ex-husband. "Is she always like this with him?"

"Yes, well at first, but then Cullen came back and she changed." Charlie told her. He couldn't keep his eyes from his daughter. Bella was glowing, her eyes were bright as she looked at Jacob and joked around with him. It couldn't just be the drink, could it? She was happy, very happy. "I've missed seeing her like this." He confided to Renee.

"Me too." Renee wiped her eyes discreetly. "You can see it, can't you?" She gripped Charlie's arm tightly as she continued to watch Bella and Jacob.

"See what?" Charlie whispered.

"See how much she loves him." Renee jerked her head toward Jacob; he was on his feet now and helping Bella to stand. "We should leave them be, give them some space."

"What?" Charlie felt Renee pull on his arm as she tried to lead him away. "We can't do that, she's inebriated and there is a crowd of people waiting to see our daughter get married. We have to…."

"Not know." Renee hissed. "That can be sorted in a while. Come on, Charlie. Edward and his lot will be trying to find her soon, let's put them off for a while at least."

Charlie and Renee had not been united on anything for years, but they were on this. A slow smile crossed Charlie's face as he held out his arm toward his ex-wife. Renee looped her arm through his and they both crept away as quietly as possible. Jacob and Bella didn't even notice them leave.

* * *

"That was fun." Bella giggled as she leaned heavily against Jacob's side. She was filthy and covered in mud. Her expensive wedding dress was caked in dirt and some of the material had ripped, but she didn't care, not at all. It was as if she had forgotten that she was even getting married.

Jacob held her upright as she swayed by his side. He could smell the drink on her now, which gave him a clue as to why she was tottering all over the place. He had never seen Bella drunk and he wondered how that had happened. As far as he recalled Bella didn't touch alcohol, not even on special occasions, so to see her like this on the day she was supposed to be getting married took him completely by surprised. "What happened, Bells?" He asked tentatively.

Bella rested her head against him and breathed him in. She loved his smell, it was earthy and fresh so different from Edward's sweet scent. "I love the way you smell." Bella murmured as she inhaled deeply again. "Did I ever tell you that?"

"You're drunk, Bells." Jacob steadied her again as she swayed.

"I'm not drunk, Jakey." Bella smiled at him lazily as she put her hands on his chest. She stroked the smooth material of his shirt, feeling the muscles underneath. "Why did you go?" She said in a small voice. Her mood had changed from happiness to melancholy as if someone had flicked a switch. "I was worried, Billy was worried, the pack was worried, Sethy was worried, and Charlie was worried…." She held up her fingers and as she tried to count how many people had been concerned about him. "I called Sethy every single day." Tears welled in her eyes as she recalled the agony of not knowing. "But no, you didn't come home."

Jacob braced himself as the tears began to spill from Bella's eyes. He hated seeing her cry, but he was still feeling raw underneath himself. He had gone because he would have gone crazy if he had stayed and watched from afar while she essentially gave herself to a being that would ultimately kill her. Jacob had warred with himself whether to even come back, but in the end, he had to; he had to see her again. Bella owned his heart and he could never stop fighting, even if in the end it was hopeless. He didn't say any of those things; she was too drunk to really take in anything. Instead he asked her to dance.

"Dance?" Bella wobbled on her feet and giggled as she grabbed at him to keep herself upright. "I don' feel too steady right now."

"I'll keep you afloat." Jacob promised as he gently put one hand over hers and the other on her lower back.

Even through her drunken haze Bella was captivated by the expression on his face. He was so handsome, so incredibly beautiful. She became pliant in his arms as she let him take the lead as they began to dance.

* * *

"Bella is busy right now." Renee said brightly as she took Edward's arm and steered him away from the grove of trees where she had left her daughter and Jacob. She and Charlie had bumped into Bella's errant fiancé as they emerged from the trees. They had been just in time.

"Busy?" Edward was struggling to be polite. The whole wedding had turned into a gruesome farce. The guests were at that moment waiting impatiently for the bride to reappear. Rosalie had tormented him mercilessly with her jibes, Alice's ego needed stroking because she had overheard some catty comments about her hideous designer dress from some of the female guests and Carlisle was beginning to suggest perhaps they should postpone things. That had not gone down too well with Edward. Now Bella's flaky mother was telling him that his wife to be was _busy!_ "What on Earth is she busy doing?" He demanded as his polite façade slipped.

"Mind your tone." Charlie said pompously. He was secretly enjoying watching Edward's discomfiture, although he did his best to hide his gloating expression. He had no idea that his future son-in-law could read his mind and that he had given away the fact that Bella was rolling around in the mud with his best friend's son. He saw Edward's strange coloured eyes darken for a second before he hid his ire behind a stoical mask.

"I apologise if I sounded rude." Edward apologised smoothly to Renee. "I am just concerned about my wife."

"She is not your wife yet." Charlie interjected.

"Charlie." Renee rolled her eyes at her ex. He wasn't helping in the slightest. She kept hold of Edward's arm as she tried to move him along, but it was like pushing heavy concrete and the chill emanating from his body was freezing her bones. How did Bella stand this? Did Edward have no blood in him? Like Charlie she had no clue that Edward could read her mind. His jaw clenched as he tried to ignore the insults echoing around their tiny minds. They were of no importance to him. His one goal was to get away from them and reclaim Bella away from Black. "Come along, Edward. Bella will be along shortly I am sure." She patted his hand comfortingly.

Edward had a hard time controlling the sneer which wanted to erupt on his lips. He had no choice at this present time other than to go along with this façade. He finally allowed Renee to steer him away from the hidden grove and back toward the main house.

* * *

"This is nice." Bella sighed happily as she and Jacob swayed to some non-existent music.

"Yeah." Jacob rested his cheek on top of her hair as his arms tightened around her. Bella had never let him hold her this close, for this long before. He was revelling in the feel of her body against his. He pulled her nearer and couldn't stop smiling when she nestled against him. Wow, this was heaven; he had to be dreaming, didn't he? This wasn't really happening! He dared to kiss the top of her head and was rewarded with a soft sigh. He then kissed the side of her face near her ear. Bella pressed closer. Jacob kissed her cheek, and then slowly trailed his lips across her skin until he reached the corner of her mouth. "Bells, I really want to…."

"There you are!" Bella reeled away from Jacob as Billy followed by Seth appeared out of the trees. Seth was pushing Billy in front of him over the rough ground. Jacob glared at his pack brother in annoyance while at the same time forcing a smile onto his face for his dad's benefit. He could see Seth looking apologetic at the interruption but it was too late now. "I can't believe you've come back." Billy held out his hands toward his son.

"He's here." Bella pronounced loudly. "He came home." She ducked down and hugged a stunned Billy, leaving mud splatters over his good suit. "We're all together again." She clapped her hands in delight as she hugged Seth too. Suddenly her eyes shone brightly and she jumped up and down excitedly. "We should celebrate Jakey's return. We can dance." She whirled round nearly sending Seth flying as she fell backwards into him. He steadied her quickly before stepping away when Jacob shot him a dark look. Bella giggled. "Oh this is so much fun. We should get the pack here, the imprints; the elders….everyone in La Push should come. There's tons of food!" She clapped her hands again.

Billy was stunned at this display. He was lost for words for a second while Bella made her wild plans. Jacob was smiling at her fondly while Seth was staring at her as if she was mad. "Um…Bella, you do know that you have guests here already. You are supposed to be getting married."

Jacob growled but Billy ignored his son. Bella's face fell for a moment as she chewed on her bottom lip. Her hand wandered to the flask which was still hidden in the belt of her dress. She pulled it out and took a long drink. The warm liquid trickled down her throat and soothed her frazzled nerves. "Weddings are boring." She brightened up again and reached for Jacob's hand. "I want to celebrate. He came home, Billy. He came home!"

"Yes, he came home." Billy's eyes wandered to his son again.

Jacob shrugged as Bella began to tug him toward the main house. "Why shouldn't we celebrate if that's what she wants?" He said challengingly.

Seth looked almost as excited as Bella as she continued to make even wilder plans. "We need music. Not that band stuff. You can be a DJ Sethy." Bella told him. "Jakey will be the guest of honour….um….um….there's lots of drink and tons of food, did I tell you that?" She gazed around at them all. "The pack can eat as much as they want. We can dance." She tried to jig but pitched forward again, Jacob caught her just in time. "Oh come on, please. It will be fun, I swear."

"Dad?" Jacob locked eyes with his father.

"This is insane." Billy too was getting caught up in Bella's enthusiasm and he had to confess he was secretly enjoying seeing the Cullen's put in their place. Why not disrupt their carefully planned wedding. Bella was right, they were all together again, his son was home, and they had every right to celebrate. "It's all crazy, but why the hell not? Sethy go get the others, we have a party to get started." He held up his hand for a high five. Bella jumped up and down as she hit his hand, followed by Jacob and Seth.

 _ **A/N-crazy or what? LOL ;) Thank you very much for reading. If there is anything you would like to see happen in the next chapter let me know and I might include it. Hugs, Nikki.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thank you all for the lovely reviews and ideas for the story!**_

 **Part Three**

Seth went off happily to collect the other pack members, they weren't too far away. Sam had kept them nearby once he knew that Jacob had returned and in case things kicked off when he saw Bella. Seth knew that his Alpha was going to be completely thrown by this turn of events. A party at the Cullen mansion, Seth just hoped that Sam wouldn't put a block on things, after all Billy had become caught up in the craziness of it all, so why not take advantage of the free food and a chance to party. With all that had gone on lately Seth felt the pack deserved it, surely Sam could see this.

Meanwhile after Jacob had made sure his dad was reunited with Sue Clearwater he went back to collect Bella who was hiding out in the little grove still. At first she had wanted to march right out among the crowd so she could make her way to the little stage that had been set up for the wedding speeches and make a big announcement about the party. She had pouted adorably when Jacob asked her to hold off for a while; he had managed to coax her into waiting until they could do it together. He cajoled her with sweet words and touches. Bella became thrilled at the thought of hiding from the Cullen's while they made their plans. When he returned he found Bella hiding behind the thick trunk of a tree. As she caught sight of him she giggled and put her finger to her lips hushing him. Jacob grinned at her childish antics; there was no way he had made any noise at all. He was the master of stealth.

"Did anyone see you?" Bella whispered loudly.

"No one." Jacob assured her.

Bella clapped her hands as a wicked smile crossed her face. "This is so much fun." She emerged from her hiding place and immediately took Jacob's hand in hers. He was still trying to get used to her initiating affection. In the past it had been him who would be the first to take her hand or put an arm around her shoulder on the rare times she let her guard down after Cullen's return. But now she didn't even seem to give it a thought. He felt her lace her fingers with his as she tugged him forward. "Can we make the announcement now?" She begged.

Jacob raised her hand and kissed the back of it. "Not just yet, honey." His eyes roved her body, taking in the spoilt wedding dress. Her makeup had run all down her face and she was covered in mud, although she seemed oblivious to how she looked. "Maybe we should get you a change of clothes." He suggested mildly.

"You called me honey." Bella gushed as she stood on her tiptoes and pressed a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "I love it when you call me that, it makes me feel special."

Jacob felt a lump catch in his throat. That was the first time she had ever acknowledged the endearment. He became quite emotional and he had to avert his gaze so Bella didn't see the moisture welling in his eyes. He was beginning to think he was hallucinating or something. This was all so surreal. "I'm glad you like it." He mumbled.

"I love it." Bella declared as she voluntarily hugged him again. She sighed happily as she rested against his warm body. "You are so hot, Jake."

"So are you. Very hot!" Jacob teased her gently.

Bella smiled up at him, her face was glowing despite the caked makeup on her face. Jacob was just about to say something when he stiffened. The smell of vamp was strong and it was coming from directly behind them. They had been found. He whirled round, standing protectively in front of Bella, his keen eyes roaming the immediate area. He knew it wasn't Edward, it smelt like the blonde, Rosalie. "Jake, come on." Bella whined, she was totally unaware of anything. She was desperate to set the plan in motion and didn't understand why he was acting so oddly.

"You can come out. I know you're here, spying." Jacob sneered.

"Spying?" Bella mumbled as she peered around him.

Rosalie strolled slowly into the little grove of trees. Her blonde hair glinted under the light shining through the branches. As always she was perfectly made up, the azure dress she was wearing fit her curvaceous figure perfectly. Not a hair was out of place, not one nail was chipped. She was the figure of perfection. She met Jacob's irritated stare coolly, one perfectly plucked eyebrow arched as she caught sight of Bella.

"What has happened to you?" Rosalie questioned Bella directly as she studied the ruined dress. "You look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards."

Bella snorted with laughter as she pushed past Jacob and staggered toward Rosalie. "Maybe I have." She gripped the skirts of her dress and swished them around her. "Jakey and I made mud angels." She looked back at Jacob and smiled at him innocently. It just about broke his heart to see her looking so adorably cute. He wished the blonde ice queen would just disappear and leave them alone. He knew it was too good to be true.

"Mud angels." Rosalie echoed her. A soft expression crossed her beautiful face as she continued to gaze at Bella. "You seem different. I can smell the alcohol, but that can't account for everything." She mused.

"Rosie, don't fuss." Bella smiled at her endearingly. "Jakey came home and I want to celebrate. We're going to have a party!" She threw her arms out wide and spun round. Jacob caught her before she fell and carefully guided her behind him again.

Rosalie was astounded. Her eyes flicked to Jacob who just shrugged. Ever so slowly a sardonic smile lit up Rosalie's face. "I like the sound of this party."

"Yay!" Bella jumped up and down like an excitable child. "Everyone is coming, Rosie. The pack, the imprints, all the guests, you, Emmet, Jasper, Carlisle, Esme, Alice…um….well she might not come, not if she's still wearing that orange thing…and….and…." Bella continued to babble away. Rosalie noticed she didn't mention Edward at all. He was right now in conference with Carlisle about his next move. The guests were milling about impatiently. The family had all been sent off to hunt Bella down. Rosalie had purposely come this way, knowing full well after overhearing Edward's conversation with Renee and Charlie that Bella was out this way. Edward had only just escaped Bella's parents. They had obviously been trying to keep him away from their daughter.

"Are you planning on ruining Bella's fun?" Jacob interrupted Rosalie's thoughts.

She met his gaze levelly. "No, in fact I'm going to help."

"Help?" Jacob sounded surprised.

"Yes. First of all Cinderella there needs a change of clothes, secondly you need my help so you can get her in the house undetected to get them. Edward knows you are here, he intends to get you ejected off the premise. I can help you avoid him and his little helpers. Thirdly I really fancy a party." Rosalie laughed at the shock on Jacob's face. "Come." She whirled around and began to lead the way out of the grove.

* * *

"Party? Are you sure about this, Billy?" Charlie looked at his friend as if he had gone crazy.

"It was your daughter's idea." Billy pointed out. He chuckled at the look on Charlie's face.

"And you're going along with this?"

"Why not?" Billy said amiably. "The wedding's off, there is loads of free food. Most of the guests are already here and hell we all need some relaxation."

"But the Cullen's…." Charlie stopped talking when he saw the wicked grin crossing his friend's face. It had been years since he had seen Billy look like that. It made him appear ten years younger. Charlie began to backtrack. "Well I guess it won't be the first time we've gate crashed a celebration, right?"

Billy's eyes became wistful as his head filled with memories of his misspent youth. "Too true, Chief, too true."

* * *

Jacob had to carry Bella in the end as he followed swiftly after Rosalie. Bella was all over the place. She couldn't stand upright. He scooped her up in his arms when she tripped for the third time, Bella had giggled loudly and then nestled against him. "I like this." She crowed. "Can you carry me all the time?"

"Can you quieten Cinders down?" Rosalie said irritably. "She's making enough noise to alert the whole of Forks."

"Aww Rosie is angry." Bella pouted and then laughed again. "Don't fuss, Rosie. Don't fuss."

"It's Rosalie, not Rosie." Rosalie muttered as she scanned the immediate area. They were getting into dangerous territory. The Denali clan and their other vampire friends were nearby, she had deliberately stayed downwind of them so they wouldn't pick up Jacob's strong scent. It was a pain that he smelt so much like wet dog. She held up her hand for a moment before gesturing for Jacob to make a run for it toward the garage which led under the house. "Now."

Jacob sprinted for the small side door. He went so fast that everything seemed like a blur to Bella as he ran. She was jiggled against his chest and nearly went boss eyed as she tried to focus. "I can't see." She complained.

"Hush, Bells." Jacob admonished her.

"This is getting boooring!" Bella sighed heavily. She fumbled for the flask and tugged it out of her belt, carefully taking a long drink as she did so. "That's better." She was in heaven as the warm booze settled comfortably in her stomach. "Jakey I wanna tell everyone about the party!"

"Soon, Bells." Jacob crept in the side door. Within seconds Rosalie had joined them. He edged away from her when her scent washed over him. Damn those vamps and their sickly sweet aroma's, it made his eyes water. "Where to now?" He demanded.

"Go straight up the back stairs, Bella's room is the fourth door on your right." Rosalie suddenly smoothed her hair down and put a bright smile on her face. "I have damage control to do. Alice is approaching. Now move." Her form was a blur as she quickly went to intercept her adopted sister.

"Just you and me, honey." Jacob grinned as Bella gave him the thumbs up. He followed Rosalie's directions to the letter. He hurried into the room, placed Bella carefully on the bed before quickly shutting the door and locking it.

Bella fell back on the bed, spreading her arms wide and yawning. The drink was making her feel sleepy. "Nap time, Jake." Her eyes began to close.

"Not yet, honey." Jacob begged her. He didn't want her to sleep; he didn't want to lose this connection he had with her. If she slept would she wake up and regret what she had done. He didn't want this to end. Not right now. He caught her hands in his and pulled her upright. "We have a party to get started, remember?"

"Party!" Bella came to life again. She smiled at him lazily as she began to yank on her dress, trying to get it off. But she couldn't reach around the back to get at the zip. "Darn it! Jakey, can you help?"

Jacob swallowed thickly. Help, of course he would love to help. He just wondered if his fingers would co-operate. He stared at her longingly for a moment as Bella continued to struggle with the dress. He really needed to get it together. Inhaling deeply he approached Bella cautiously and reached out for the zipper. Yes, his damn fingers were shaking. He forced himself to remain focused as he carefully unzipped the dress. Loads of creamy skin was exposed as the dress parted before him and he nearly came undone. Bella was going to be the death of him. "Jeez, Bells." He muttered. "You are so…." There was a knock at the door. Jacob cursed under his breath. Who the hell could that be? He couldn't smell vamp. "Who is it?" He choked out.

"Renee." Bella's mother called through the door. "Rosalie sent me up here to get Bella changed."

Damn the blonde ice princess! Jacob sighed heavily as he backed away from Bella and went to open the door. "Mom." Bella squealed excitedly when she saw her mother. "We're getting ready to party!"

"So I heard, baby girl." Renee looked at Jacob knowingly. "Perhaps you should go outside and cool off a little, huh?" She suggested to Jacob. "There is quite the commotion going on out there. A few of your friends have turned up." A sly smile crossed Renee's face as she saw Jacob frown. "Seems they forgot to bring any shirts with them, although the ladies are definitely appreciative of the view, the men are not." She laughed at Jacob as he winced. "You better get out there and calm things down. I'll get my daughter ready and then we can get this party started." She winked at Jacob as he quickly kissed Bella on the cheek before hurrying out of the room.

"Where's Jakey going?" Bella demanded loudly.

"None of your beeswax, baby girl. Now let's get this dress off you and find something killer for you to wear." Renee steered a peeved Bella back into the room and began to help her off with the dress.

 _ **A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thanks for the kind reviews, Nikki.**_

 **Part Four**

Jacob was reluctant to leave Bella behind but he knew Renee had interrupted them for a good reason, and he supposed it was for the best. He had certainly been struggling to contain himself with so much skin on show. He wandered outside, making sure to keep downwind of the property so his scent didn't blow in the vamp's direction. He wanted to remain hidden for as long as possible. Jacob was surprised his brothers had come; he thought Sam would have put a stop to it all. It wasn't something he could imagine Uley agreeing to. Maybe as the suggestion had come directly from Billy it had swayed his normally cautious Alpha. But Jacob was glad they were here, and it didn't take him long to spot the pack. He could hear the commotion quite easily from where he was. The invited guests were all huddled together near the temporary aisle, they were whispering about the new arrivals. Jacob could tell that the women were especially impressed with all the bare flesh on display. He noticed Bella's frenemy, Jessica Stanley. She was openly gawping at a bare chested Quil and Embry as they moved fluidly across the lawn, moving chairs and other paraphernalia out of the way to make room. Jacob had to laugh at the sheer audacity of the pack. He saw Quil wink at Jessica, her date for the occasion, Mike Newton, looked absolutely miserable. He was tugging at the cuffs of his tight shirt and was probably wishing he could strip down like the pack.

"Is this the entertainment? Are they strippers?" Some of the female guests asked each other eagerly as they stared at the pack. "This is better than we expected."

Paul Lahote was on the stage. He could obviously hear what the women were saying. He was in his element. His shorts were hanging low on his hips and he actually began to dance around the stage as if he was about to strip off his last piece of clothing. Trust him to make a fool of himself. Some of the female guests began to whoop and cheer while the men glared up at him. Jacob was just about to run up and stop the fool from making a total tool of himself when Carlisle Cullen strode onto the stage followed by Edward. Jacob's eyes narrowed as he watched his nemesis glare malevolently at Paul.

Carlisle grabbed the microphone and smiled awkwardly at the milling guests. "Hello everyone, we apologise for the delay. We have been experiencing some technical hitches…."

"Yeah like the bride running off." Jared called out from the back of the stage. His comment sent Quil, Embry and the others laughing. There was a ripple of amusement from the crowd.

"We don't care about her, we were enjoying the entertainment." A blonde female called out.

Carlisle coughed and glanced at Edward who appeared as if he wanted to jump into the crowd and murder the woman who had spoken. "We apologise for the delay." Carlisle continued as he smiled ruefully. "But let me assure you that the wedding will still continue…."

"Not likely." Paul called out from the back of the stage.

"Get off this stage." Edward hissed at Lahote.

Paul just ignored him and dodged around Edward as he tried to eject him. "Jeez, dude, you reek." Paul's words were relayed to the crowd as the microphone caught them. The crowd burst into laughter again, thinking that this entertainment was all pre-planned. Off to one side Seth and the others began to set up some sound equipment.

Jacob had seen enough. He left his brothers to it as he headed back toward the house to wait for Bella to reappear.

* * *

"There you go, baby girl." Renee beamed at her daughter as she stood behind her in front of the mirror. She smoothed down Bella's hair which she had undone from its intricate braid. It fell around her shoulders, all curly and shiny. The caked up makeup had been cleaned off and instead Renee had put a little bit of lipstick on her daughter's lips and some mascara. She looked fresh faced and her skin was glowing. "You look beautiful."

Bella pulled down the short black shift dress which her mother had unearthed in the bulging suitcase full of clothes that Alice had prepacked for her, ready to be taken on her honeymoon, not that she had any idea of where she was supposed to be going. Edward had kept that a secret. Bella studied herself in the mirror; the dress was a deep blue colour and simple. It was the only garment in the case that Renee and Bella felt suited her. The other clothes were obviously designer but so far from Bella's individual taste. Alice had chosen them all. Renee had been surprised when her daughter had divulged this fact to her. She had discreetly not commented on it but it worried her that this family that her daughter had so nearly joined seemed to treat Bella like a doll with no mind of her own. "I look more like me." Bella whispered as she twisted and turned, studying herself carefully.

"Yes you do." Renee agreed softly. "You don't need all that makeup and flashy clothes. You look lovely just as you are. I wish that you would believe me, baby girl. I've always told you that." Tears welled in Renee's eyes and she brushed them away.

"Aww mom." Bella spun around and flung her arms around her mother. It had been too long since she'd had alone time with Renee. She had forgotten how close they used to be. Since living in Forks she had only managed one trip to Jacksonville and that had been with Edward accompanying her. It hadn't really given her time to reconnect with her mother. "I'm glad you're here." She gushed.

"So am I." Renee smiled weakly as she hugged her daughter close. "Now I have something else for you."

Bella was startled when she felt Renee press something into her hand. It was a box. She glanced down and her face flushed red as she realised what was in the box. "MOM!" She dropped them on the floor as if they burned.

"Come now." Renee's eyes glinted mischievously. "Always be prepared, baby girl. That boy that just left here is smokin' hot. Don't tell me he doesn't make your skin burn."

Bella felt as if her skin was already burning. Renee's words made her laugh; Jacob was hot in so many ways. Her mother didn't realise the half of it. "He is very hot." She giggled nervously as Renee retrieved the box and gave it back to her.

"I don't know how you've kept your hands off of that boy, Bella." Renee shook her head in wonder. She examined Bella one last time and smiled happily. "Are you ready to party, baby girl?"

"I'm ready." Bella mumbled as she fumbled with the box and shoved it in her clutch bag along with the silver flask.

"I can't hear you?" Renee said loudly.

"I'm ready." Bella laughed as Renee began to dance crazily around the room. "Then yell it out loud, baby girl. ARE YOU READY TO PARTY?"

"I'M READY TO PARTY!" Bella collapsed into hysterics as she pulled out the silver flask again and took a long swig. She passed it to Renee who drank some too. "Let's go." Bella took her mother's arm and the two of them left the room singing at the top of their voices.

* * *

Edward was on the warpath. He had never been so angry in his life. He couldn't believe this was happening to him. The whole mansion had been taken over by the La Push wolf pack as they dared to encroach on his territory and completely destroy all of his and Alice's hard work on the wedding paraphernalia. Esme had been left to console their friends from Denali as they reeled from the smell of the uninvited interlopers. Jasper was hard at work calming everyone's nerves, especially Alice's, who instead of helping him locate Bella was right now in her room flinging clothes about as she tried to find something that would dazzle everyone. She was extremely put out that her expensive designer bridesmaid dress had not been the showstopper she had expected. Edward had left Carlisle to try and retain order among their human guests while he went off to try and finally locate his errant bride. How could Bella do this to him? Black must have planned all this along with Bella's flaky mother and Charlie Swan. Bella's father had always loathed him; Edward had to fight the urge on so many occasions not to call out the Chief of police on the insults flying around the man's puerile brain. The quicker that he got Bella out and away from all these heathen's the better.

Edward finally caught a whiff of Bella's scent; it was overpowered by Black's appalling stench. The cur must have had his hands on his fiancée, well the dog would pay dearly for that and for all the chaos his pack had caused. Treaty or no treaty this was an abomination of epic proportions. Suddenly loud music boomed out causing Edward to put his hands over his ears. What the hell was happening now? Edward's form was a blur as he headed to the back of the house; it appeared that Bella had taken the dog inside. He frowned as he opened the small side door so he could continue to track them, but before he could step one foot inside he was confronted by Emmet and Rosalie. "Have you seen her?" He demanded rudely. Rosalie flashed him a triumphant smile as she took one of his arms and Emmet took the other. Edward glared at them both as they literally dragged him back outside. "What are you doing?"

"Having fun." Rosalie yelled above the loud music as she and Emmet continued to haul him away from the house.

* * *

Jacob would never forget how Bella looked when he first laid eyes on her when she came back out of the house. She stood nervously by her mother's side as she smiled at him. She was dressed in a simple blue shift dress; her face was mostly bare except for a little makeup which accentuated her beautiful brown eyes and her uneven pout. When she caught him staring a blush bloomed on her cheeks. Her abundant brown hair swept around her slim shoulders as she looked at him shyly. "Do I look okay?" She mumbled.

"Okay." Jacob was at a loss for words. He saw Renee smiling at him in amusement. "Honey, you look more than okay, you look amazing. You look like Bells again."

"Do I?" Bella said softly as she bit down on her bottom lip.

"Yeah." Jacob felt quite choked up. He was about to say more when the loud booming music startled them all. It seemed Seth had got the equipment going. Jacob held out his hand toward Bella. "Ready for some fun?"

Bella's nervous smile disappeared as she took his hand. "Definitely." She glanced back at her mother. "You coming?"

"No you go ahead, baby girl. I'm going to hunt down Phil." Renee waved them away and then discreetly wiped away a tear as she watched the tall, handsome Native American lead her daughter away.

* * *

The whole place was a picture of chaos. Bella giggled as Jacob led her around the large crowd which was gathered in the middle of the Cullen's palatial grounds. All the chairs had been taken away and set up around the sides of the gardens to create one big space. On the stage Seth and Quil were spinning discs as they played DJ for the day. Bella was in awe as she watched the pack have fun. The other guests looked uncertain, some were huddled together whispering while others had already taken to the party atmosphere and were fooling around. The huge trestle tables were groaning with food and drink, it didn't surprise Bella to see Jacob's brothers already sampling the food. She noticed Leah had a bottle of champagne in her hand; she sprayed it over Paul's head as he tried to sneak some food from behind her. Bella noticed Sam standing not too far away; she was surprised he had come. He looked a little wary but she saw a smile pull at his lips as he watched Leah and Paul's antics.

"This is madness." Jacob grinned at her as he hailed Quil and Seth. They had now reached the stage. "Are you sure you want to do this, honey?" He checked one last time.

"Hell yeah!" Bella suddenly darted off and stumbled as she climbed up onto the stage. She gestured for Quil and Seth to turn the music down for a second. She then grabbed the microphone in her hand; it made an appalling squeak which certainly got everyone's attention. Bella became mute for a second as she saw loads of curious eyes staring at her. She gazed back at the sea of faces and lost her nerve. She swallowed thickly a couple of times as her eyes sought Jacob, and there he was. He stood near the front of the stage and grinned at her. Bella took her confidence from him. "Hello everyone!" She called out.

A chorus of hello's boomed back at her from the crowd. Bella laughed nervously. "Is anyone in a mood for a party, a real party with loads of sumptuous food and drink?" She continued.

"Hell yeah!" The pack called out in unison as they encouraged the other guests along. There was more cheering and catcalling.

"THIS PARTY IS IN HONOUR OF MY BEST FRIEND JACOB BLACK. COME UP HERE, JACOB." Bella bellowed. She clapped wildly as Jacob ran up onto the stage. He took her hand and held it up high. "IS EVERYONE READY TO PARTY?"

A wave of cheering, clapping and wolf whistles greeted that statement. Bella felt Jacob grip her hand tightly as he took the microphone from her. "YOU HEARD THE GIRL, LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

And so it began….

 _ **A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thank you all for the kind reviews and for following this story!**_

 **Part Five**

With Bella's announcement and the pack urging the other guests on, everyone finally began to mingle with each other. Slowly people drifted onto the temporary dance floor in front of the stage and they began to dance, talk and laugh together. "It's working." Bella was like an excited child at Christmas as she clasped her hands together in delight as she looked down from the stage at everyone. Jacob couldn't keep the grin off of his face as he looked at her, she was so damn cute. Her eyes were glowing; the sunlight was tinting her hair pretty colours. He longed to reach out and touch it, touch her. Would she protest if he put his arm around her. She was so captivated by the scenes unfolding in front of her that he didn't want to ruin the moment by making some unwanted move. But then Bella took him by surprise. She reached out and took his hand in hers, smiling up at him as she did so. "Dance with me?"

"Here?" Jacob glanced around the stage. Seth and Quil gave him high fives as they kept the music pumping. They both had bottles in their hands and were drinking profusely.

"Yes, here." Bella laughed as she tugged him toward the centre of the stage. "This party is for you after all."

"Bells, am I dreaming?" Jacob couldn't help asking, he felt like pinching himself to see if he was asleep or awake.

Bella's expression turned serious for a second as something he couldn't quite define flashed in her eyes. "No, I think I am the one who's just woken from a dream." She whispered before brightening up again. "Come on, Black. Show me some moves."

"You asked for it." Jacob pulled her closer and they began to dance crazily across the stage.

* * *

"Is that Bells?" Charlie was astonished as he peered up at the stage. He was quite far away from it near the back of the huge gardens, and he had to squint to make out anything.

"Sure is." Billy leaned forward in his chair. "And Jake." He chuckled as he watched his son pick Bella up and literally swing her around in a mad dance.

"Is this really happening, Billy?" Charlie couldn't believe it. He had woken up that morning full of gloom at the thought of the wedding. He had been planning all sorts of scenarios about how to stop the marriage going ahead, all the while knowing that it was out of his hands. But in all his wildest dreams he would never have thought this could happen.

"It really is, Chief." Billy could see his friend still look unconvinced. He too was having trouble reconciling himself with the fact that perhaps happy ever afters did happen. He was fond of Bella and knew how much his son adored her. He had been preparing himself to deal with Jacob's heartbreak when he returned from his wanderings, but things had completely turned on their head. It was as if Renee had given his friend's daughter some kind of magic potion and woken her up to what she was about to do. "What was in that stuff that Renee gave to Bella?" He asked curiously.

"She won't say." Charlie grouched. "All she will tell me is that it is some old concoction passed down in her family. Remember how drunk Ren was when I married her? She couldn't stand upright, and the chaos she caused…." He winced at the memory.

"Yes, I do remember. It was like someone had poured some truth serum down her throat. Jeez, what she said to your old mom." Billy shuddered. Greta Swan, Charlie's mother, had been a formidable woman. No one was good enough for her little boy. Billy and Harry had often wondered whether Charlie would ever escape Greta's clutches. She had hated Renee on sight; no one ever thought that Charlie would have managed to marry her, or that Renee would cope with the bullish matriarch. But on her wedding day Renee had imbibed the same stuff that Bella was drinking and the highlight of the day had been watching Greta getting a dressing down from her future daughter-in-law. It was a scene not to be forgotten. Charlie's mother was not a popular woman by any means, some of the guests had cheered Renee's courage at voicing what they were all thinking.

"Yeah." Charlie agreed absently. He had caught sight of Sue Clearwater; she was huddled together with her daughter Leah, who was still grasping the bottle of champers she had sprayed over Paul Lahote earlier. Charlie was itching to ask Sue to dance but didn't want to intrude on the mother daughter time.

Billy saw Charlie looking and sighed. It was obvious that his friend had a thing for Sue Clearwater, but Harry hadn't been gone that long and now was probably not the most appropriate time to act on his feelings. He watched as Sue and Leah disappeared into the crowd, no doubt going to check on Seth, who seemed a bit worse for wear after imbibing some of the illegal moonshine that Quil had brought with him from the res. Billy hoped that Charlie didn't find out about that. If it was just normal alcohol then the wolves could handle it fine, but the stronger stuff even put them on their ass. Billy was annoyed with young Quil. Old Quil, his grandfather, would certainly be pissed that his grandson had stolen some of his stash. Billy wondered whether the elders would come to the Cullen's place. He knew that Sam had informed them about what was going on. Sam's imprint Emily had refused to attend, which was a surprise to Billy seeing as Uley himself had turned up without her. That was highly unusual in itself, just another odd thing to ponder.

* * *

Bella giggled as she sat down on the edge of the stage with her legs hanging over the side. She was tuckered out from all the mad dancing. "I need a rest, Jakey." She said breathlessly as he sat down beside her.

"I think you're not the only one." Jacob pointed toward Seth who was lying horizontally on the other side of the platform. He was laughing uproariously to himself as he waved a bottle in the air.

"What happened to poor, Sethy?" Bella cooed.

"Moonshine." Jacob shook his head in amusement. Even Quil was swaying as he tried to pull Seth back up onto his feet. "The idiots drank too much of it. Our metabolism is good, but not that good."

All the talk about drink made Bella feel very thirsty. She hunted around in her clutch bag for the silver flask that Renee had given her. She could do with another tipple. She pulled it out triumphantly and began to unscrew the top. "No you don't." Jacob took it from her before she could drink anymore. "I think you've reached your limit, missy." He teased as he held it out of her reach.

"Jakey." Bella complained as she tried to grab it from him. "Not fair."

Jacob laughed as he continued to hold it high in the air. He was so caught up in his little game that he was unaware that Sam had come onto the stage to investigate what was up with Seth and Quil. He noticed Jacob waving the flask about and he snatched it from him. "What the hell is this?" He demanded as he unscrewed the cap and sniffed it.

"That's mine." Bella frowned and tried to grab it from him.

"Drink it Sam before she gets hold of it again. She'll be on her ass if she has anymore." Jacob smiled as Bella pouted adorably.

"What's in it?" Sam sniffed it again cautiously. "It's not something I recognise."

"Who cares?" Jacob said lazily as he ruffled Bella's hair playfully, trying to make her smile again.

Sam shrugged, tipped his head back and drank the whole lot in one go. Unlike when Bella had drank it the kickback wasn't so strong, still it made Sam cough a couple of times. "Shit, that's strong stuff. How she's even still on her feet is a miracle?" Sam blinked as his eyes watered. "Where did she get this again?"

"Renee gave it to her, to calm her nerves." Jacob looked at his Alpha curiously. Sam was licking his lips and he seemed disappointed that there was no more in the flask as he held it upside down to check. "You alright, Sam?"

"Sure, sure." Sam's normally reserved expression lightened as he smiled at Jacob and Bella. They were totally taken aback by it and stared at him wordlessly.

Leah and Sue had made it to the stage. They all turned round to look when they heard the she wolf cuss at Quil for letting her little brother imbibe too much of the moonshine. Sue was kneeling next to her son, examining him carefully. Seth was in hysterics as he stayed on his back, his hands waving in the air as he called for more. More of what no one could say. Quil blinked at them all owlishly, he had a stupid grin on his face which only inflamed Leah's ire even more.

"I better go and sort this out. I am the big bad Alpha after all." Sam puffed out his chest and marched over to Leah and the others.

"Huh?" Jacob exchanged a shocked glance with Bella. Even through her drunken haze she could see that Sam was acting strangely. They watched in stunned silence as Uley strode over to Leah, scooped her up into his arms and literally bounded off the stage. He landed lightly on his feet with Leah gawping at Sam as if he had gone crazy. She was lost for words. They were soon out of sight as they disappeared into the crowd. Sue got to her feet and stared after them, her eyes wide and mouth open in surprise.

"Bells, what was in that flask?" Jacob questioned.

Bella just shrugged and smiled.

 _ **A/N-thanks for reading! More to come….what do you think so far? What is really going on?**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thank you so much for the lovely reviews everyone. I really appreciate it. Nikki**_

 **Part Six**

Rosalie and Emmet dragged Edward toward one of the marquees set up near the house. It housed the wedding cake and was supposed to be where the guests would receive a gourmet feast at the reception after the wedding. But instead the Denali coven was huddled inside along with Carlisle and Esme. He could hear Tanya's strident voice as she complained about the awful smell emanating from the wolf pack. Edward groaned internally, that was all he needed. He had been avoiding Tanya since she had arrived. Inexplicably she seemed to have a thing for him and used any opportunity to lay her hands on him. Rosalie and Emmet and brought him here deliberately to keep him away from Bella. He seethed with rage as the Denali coven turned around simultaneously and glared at him.

"Ah, the groom or not." Eleazar drawled. "I've been told it's your so called fiancée who invited those dogs to party outside. We had to seek refuge in here. I have to say I have never smelt anything so vile in my life."

"Please, Eleazar." Carlisle tried to soothe her ruffled feathers but to no effect. Carmen snorted derisively while Garrat looked bored by everything. It was well known he hadn't wanted to attend. The women had forced him into it. Although Edward caught a fleeting thought running through his head, Garrat was finding Edward's predicament amusing. This only increased Edward's anger.

"Edward, Edward." Tanya held out her arms toward him. Her red painted nails glinted dangerously in the dim lighting. Edward tried to avoid her but Tanya always seemed to know what way he would move to avoid her. Her thin arms wrapped around his neck and she buried her head with the blonde curls in his neck. "You poor, poor dear." She said in false sympathy. "You deserve so much better than that pale faced creature."

"Her name is Isabella." Edward retorted irritably as he disentangled himself from Tanya's embrace.

"Well it seems that your Isabella has dumped you, Eddie my boy." Garrat interjected smoothly. "Rather a waste of our time coming."

"The wedding will still go ahead." Carlisle said desperately as he exchanged a worried glance with Esme. They could see Edward was about to explode. He was obviously reading the Denali coven's thoughts and they were probably not too flattering. "Bella just needs a little more time."

"Carlisle, for goodness sake." Rosalie rolled her eyes impatiently. "She is out there right now wrapped around her wolf boy, dancing. I think that pretty much says it all, don't you?"

"This is your doing." Edward snarled. "You're enjoying this."

"Chill bro." Emmet slapped Edward on the back sending him pitching forward into Tanya's open arms. He laughed uproariously as Tanya clutched onto Edward like a limpet. "Seems you've got someone to comfort you."

"Emmet." Esme chided him, although a small smile of amusement was tugging at her lips. Even Carlisle seemed to be having trouble keeping a straight face as Tanya began to fawn all over Edward. There was no way she was going to let him get away any time soon.

"Well I for one feel like having some fun for a change. If you lot want to stay in here and complain then you're welcome to do so." Rosalie fluffed up her long, silky hair and took Emmet's arm. "Feel like a dance?" She fluttered her long eyelashes at her mate, making Emmet boom with laughter.

Edward glared at Rosalie as he watched her leave with Emmet. He was absolutely livid. Tanya had a stranglehold around his neck and he was having difficulty shaking her off. He looked to Carlisle for help but his adopted father just shrugged as he carried on soothing Eleazar's complaints.

* * *

Jacob was feeling hungry and he thought it was time Bella put some food in her stomach to soak up some of the drink. He helped her down from the stage and the two of them weaved their way through the crowd, trying to reach the tables full of food. Jacob could see that pack was already swarming around it helping themselves to the food and drink. Embry was sitting on the grass, a heaped up plate in front of him and an overflowing glass of champagne fizzing in a tall glass. Beside him was Jared, Kim was feeding her mate some sausage rolls and kissing him in between bites. Really the two of them could be so sickening at times.

"Do you want me to feed you, Jakey?" Bella teased him when she caught sight of Jared and Kim.

"Why not?" Jacob grinned at her as he managed to grab a plate and start filling it up with food. Bella snagged a bottle of champagne and she followed after him as they found a private spot where they could sit down and start feasting. "Really, honey? More booze? I don't think so." Jacob took the bottle of champagne from her and hid it behind his back.

"Jacob!" Bella complained as she shot him a mock glare. "You are not the boss of me. This is a celebration, remember?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him and put on her best puppy dog expression.

"Jeez, Bells, quit it." Jacob sighed heavily as he caved in and poured her a small glass. "This is just to have a toast that's all. No sneaking anymore. You don't know what was in that flask your mom gave you so you don't want to be mixing your drinks."

"What are you my dad now?" Bella pouted as she crossed her arms defensively.

"God forbid." Jacob pretended to shudder as he passed her the glass.

"Spoilsport." Bella took a dainty sip and then reached for the food. "You know that I'm not going to feed you the food now, right?"

"Who cares? I can do that myself." Jacob winked at her making Bella laugh hysterically as she watched him shove a piece of cake in his mouth whole.

* * *

Charlie passed Renee as he scouted around for his daughter. He had seen Bella leave the stage and wanted to check on her. He had left Billy in Sue's capable hands. It seemed she'd had quite a shock. Sue had witnessed her daughter being carried off by her former beau, Sam Uley, and was having trouble deciding what to do. She had hunted around for Leah but could find no sign of her; she had come to ask Billy for his advice. This had irked Charlie a little, why would she ask Billy and not him. Seeing them huddled together talking only inflamed his irritation, so he decided to take off so he didn't have to witness the cosy display any further. As he roamed around, testily avoiding the gyrating couples that kept getting in his path he came across his ex-wife. Renee was standing next to her new husband, Phil. They seemed to be having a tiff. He watched as Phil's lips thinned and he took off, leaving Renee staring after him.

"Trouble in paradise?" Charlie couldn't help asking. Renee gave him a dirty look as she opened her handbag and pulled out a bottle of something. There was no label on it, the liquid inside was clear, so it was either water or Vodka, Charlie presumed, probably the latter. He waited until she had finished drinking and then decided to ask about the drink Renee had given Bella. "What was in that stuff you gave Bells?"

"I told you it was a secret concoction passed down through the generations in my family. When our daughter is settled herself I will tell her all about it. I tell you, Charlie." She tapped the bottle. "It's good stuff."

"You brought more, and you're drinking it yourself?" Charlie's eyes widened in surprise. "And this is the same stuff you drank at our wedding?"

Renee's face became wistful as she nodded. "Yes, I was glad of it too. Your mother was a forced to be reckoned with, god bless her soul."

Charlie felt uncomfortable discussing his late mother. Greta certainly had been a domineering woman. She had pushed his dad into an early grave with her hectoring and pushy attitude. She had never had a good word to say about anybody, especially the women in his life. "Yes, well…."

"She was just sad, Charlie." Renee broke through his melancholic thoughts. "You were the one thing she got right, that's what she finally admitted to me once before she died."

"Really?" Charlie was shocked at this. After his divorce Greta had declared that Renee no longer existed. When did his ex-wife see his mother before she died? "I thought you two never spoke again after you left Forks."

"Of course we did. Your mother loved Bella and despite the fact that she hated me, she forced herself to be polite enough so she could keep in touch with her only granddaughter. Did she never say?" Renee studied Charlie carefully.

"Not one damn word." Charlie shook his head in disbelief. He would never understand women. He stared at his feet for a moment before looking up at Renee again. She was staring moodily after her husband who was at another table talking to some young women closer to his age. "Why'd you leave me, Ren?" He asked suddenly.

Renee seemed startled by his question. "Why are you asking me this now?"

"Just curious that's all. You loved me once upon a time didn't you?" Charlie didn't know why he was pursuing this now, but it suddenly seemed important that she answer.

"It wasn't because I didn't love you, Charlie." Renee replied softly. "It was because I felt stifled in such a small town. I wanted to spread my wings and you refused to come with me."

"And if I had? Would we still be married?" Charlie pressed.

Renee smiled sadly. "I really don't know." She whispered.

* * *

"Here's to the bestest friend a girl could have." Bella raised her glass as she toasted Jacob.

"Ditto." Jacob felt his eyes moisten up at her words. He quickly clinked his glass with Bella's before she noticed. He watched as she tipped her head back and drained her glass before he copied her. "Not bad." He licked his lips. "How much did this cost do you think?" He held up the bottle of champagne.

"Too damn much probably." Bella said dismissively. "The Cullen's always go over the top." This was the first time that she had mentioned any of the vamps at all, and it made Jacob feel uneasy. He didn't want her thinking about them, because then she might think about Edward. He closed down this train of thought, he was being irrational. Bella was twirling her empty glass about in her fingers, her eyes trained on the rainbow colours it was making in the bright light.

"You look beautiful." Jacob blurted out suddenly.

Bella stopped twirling the glass and smiled at him. Normally she would have batted away his compliment and found a way to put herself down, but this time she simply turned it around on him. "You're beautiful too. I love the way you smile, it's brighter than the sun. I always think of you as my sun. Have I told you that before?"

"Once or twice." Jacob became lost in memories. "Do you remember the time you fell off the bike and hit your head? You said I was sort of beautiful then."

"How dumb was I?" Bella caught his hand in hers and stroked his palm gently. "You were not sort of beautiful; you are beautiful, inside and out. Not many people have such goodness in them like you. It just shines out of you."

"Like the sun." Jacob referenced her earlier comment and both of them collapsed with laughter. "Oh, Bells, I am so glad I came back."

"Me too." Bella squeezed his hand. "Me too."

 _ **A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!**_

 **Part Seven**

The hours passed by, soon it was approaching mid-afternoon. Carlisle was forced to come up onto the stage and announce that the wedding was not going to happen that day. He was embarrassed to see that nobody seemed to care. The guests carried on partying along with the pack. He was glad that he hadn't brought Edward along with him to make the announcement; it would have hurt his adopted son considerably to see what was going on. He had left Edward with Esme and Tanya, who was still clinging to his son. In her human life Tanya had been a possessive character, there were rumours that she had been behind her husband's disappearance when he tried to get away from her. This was before she was changed. But Carlisle always liked to see the best in everyone and he ignored the rumours that were circulating at the time. As soon as she had seen Edward she had become fixated on him, and had not been best pleased when he had not returned her affections. It was for a good reason she had not found another mate of her own, she tended to scare them away with her overzealous attentions.

Carlisle sighed heavily as he scanned the huge gardens trying to find Bella. Rosalie had let slip that she was with her wolf boy, or Jacob Black to give him his human name. Carlisle was trying to be understanding, he knew how much Bella was attached to the young shapeshifter, and indeed he himself was grateful that Jacob had kept Bella safe and well, but it upset him that Bella had so easily walked away from his son without a by your leave to essentially catch up with an old friend. He kept searching but Carlisle could not see her, he noticed her parents dancing together, which was odd as he thought Charlie and Renee were estranged from one another. They were dancing very close, he could see Renee's younger husband glaring at them as they swayed together. Carlisle felt like he was missing something here, but he couldn't get a hold on what. He continued to use his piercing eyesight to look around. Most of the pack was near the food and drink, which wasn't a surprise as they had to eat huge quantities to maintain their high metabolism. He could see that Jacob wasn't among them; neither was their Alpha, Sam Uley. Carlisle would have thought the leader of the pack would have been keeping an eye on them. Two of them looked very worse for wear, one was Seth and his companion, Quil was it? He couldn't remember all their names. The two of them were perched on one of the long benches, arms around each other's shoulders singing drunkenly to an amused crowd which had gathered around them.

Carlisle finally gave up; he couldn't see Bella at all. He wasn't looking forward to having to go back and inform Edward that his wife to be had disappeared. Tanya would certainly take advantage of the situation. Carlisle shuddered at the thought of Tanya becoming a part of his family. There was a reason she lived in Denali with the other demanding members of that coven. He often wondered how Garrat could stand being around such head strong females on a daily basis. Still there was nothing he could do right now. He would have to try and soothe Edward's frazzled nerves. He was certain Bella would turn up soon. She could never stay away from his son for long, she loved Edward too much. With this thought in mind Carlisle left the stage and hurried back to his family.

* * *

Sue Clearwater sat down next to Billy. She couldn't find her daughter anywhere. Her son was right at that moment entertaining some drunken females with his terrible singing voice. Quil Ateara was serenading someone called Jessica Stanley. He had stolen her from under her date's nose, but by the way the girl was clinging to Quil, it looked like he hadn't needed to try very hard.

"No luck?" Billy asked sympathetically.

"No." Sue smoothed the long skirts of her dress down. She was worried about her daughter, especially after her jaded history with Sam. Why had he run off with her like that? What had possessed him? What about Emily? It was odd that she had stayed behind when Jared's imprint, Kim, had come. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt Billy's warm hand curl around hers. She glanced up into his wise eyes and felt comforted by his presence.

"It will be fine, Sue. Don't worry. Leah is a strong girl, I am sure she can handle herself and as for Seth, well let him enjoy being young." Billy stroked her hand for a moment before letting go. Sue was surprised that she missed his touch.

* * *

Leah couldn't contain her delight. She pinched herself a couple of times to make certain that she wasn't dreaming. It was all so surreal. She replayed the moment Sam had stridden confidently toward her and scooped her up into his arms like some kind of caveman. She had immediately opened her mouth to protest but she had looked into his eyes and became lost. She hadn't seen him look at her like that for a long time, not since the day he had imprinted on Emily. Leah didn't know what to think. Her head and her heart were a mess. She had missed the feel of his arms and although the sane part of her kept telling her to get away from him, the irrational part, the part that still loved him deeply, despite everything, pushed her to stay where she was. He had carried her silently away from the huge crowds, weaving through the heaving bodies of the guests as they danced. His dark eyes, full of intense love mixed with lust never left hers. Leah knew that her Sam had never looked at Emily like that, ever.

They ended up back in the forest surrounding the Cullen's mansion. Sam finally stopped and placed Leah onto her feet before clasping her face in-between his hands. He still hadn't vocalised what he was feeling, he seemed to be using his eyes instead to tell her what was in his heart. But Leah had been burned badly by him already; she needed more confirmation than that. She'd pushed away from him and phased into her wolf form. Sam seemed to understand what she needed from him. He phased quickly and finally let her see inside his head. There were no secrets between them now, his wolf couldn't lie, Leah had relaxed her guard and let Sam back in.

Now she was on her way back to see her mother and tell her the good news, well good in her eyes anyway. She knew that Sue would be ambivalent about it, but Leah had spent so long being sad that she wanted to grasp this chance at a happy ever after with both hands. She had seen Jacob and Bella reconnecting and it had given her hope. If they still had a chance with everything that was stacked against them, then surely she had one too. Leah had reluctantly left Sam behind as he went back to Emily to tell her it was over between them. Leah knew that he had to face that trial alone. She touched her lips which were still stinging from Sam's ardent kisses and for the first time in a long time, Leah smiled.

* * *

"MY GIRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLL." Quil warbled as he got down on one knee in front of Jessica. He took her hand and kissed the back of it. Jessica was nearly coming apart at the seams. She had forgotten all about Mike Newton. Quil was the one, of course he was, no one had ever serenaded her before (even if his voice sounded like nails screeching across a blackboard, at least he knew the words). She beamed at him as he leapt gracefully onto his feet and bowed theatrically to her. Some of the other guests who had been watching the show clapped and cheered his performance.

"YES, QUILLY, YES!" Jessica yelled as she suddenly threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Huh?" Quil had no idea what she was talking about. He had just picked some random girl from the crowd so he could perform in front of the others. He liked showing off. He stared at Jessica blearily. "Yes, what darlin'?" He mumbled.

"YES, I WILL MARRY YOU!" Jessica cooed as she began kissing him all over his face. The crowd began to cheer again, congratulating the couple on their newly formed engagement, while Quil's face drained of colour as he stared over the mad girl's head at the sea of excited faces.

* * *

Bella squinted as Jacob turned on the overhead lights of the garage. It had been an age since she had visited the 'Taj Mahal,' as they called it. The garage had become their refuge from the storm which seemed to have been permanently waiting to consume them in the lead up to the newborn battle. Bella had missed the place and couldn't stop herself wandering around, touching this or that as she familiarised herself with the place again. It had been Jacob's suggestion to come back here. The party was still in full swing but after they had eaten they had begun reminiscing about the past. Bella had mentioned she wanted to see the bikes again and Jacob had said they could easily take off for a while so she could see them. And it had been easy. Jacob had picked her up in his arms and carried her back to La Push; no one had seen them go. They were all too busy partying.

"Ta dah!" Jacob yanked off the tarpaulin covering the bikes and grinned as Bella's eyes lit up. "They are still in working order. I keep them tuned up."

"Even mine?" Bella said softly.

"Yeah, even yours." Jacob's grin faded as he locked eyes with Bella. "I always hoped…."

Bella paused for a moment, her eyes filling with tears as she caught the anxiety in his voice. "There is nothing wrong with hope." She whispered.

Jacob held out his hand toward her. "Shall we go for a ride?"

"I'd love to." Bella took his hand and squeezed it gently.

"I think you should ride with me though. You have been drinking." Jacob reminded her.

"Good idea." Bella leaned on him as he helped her climb on the back of his bike. Then he straddled it himself. She slipped her arms tightly around his waist and leaned her head on his broad back, closing her eyes as she did so.

"Ready?" Jacob asked.

"Ready." Bella heard him kick start the bike, then they were off.

 _ **A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews everyone!**_

 **Part Eight**

Bella clung to Jacob and hid her face against his broad back as the wind whipped her hair violently around her. The good weather they had been enjoying so far seemed to be deteriorating rapidly. She felt droplets of rain soak her skin, and goose pimples pricked her body where she wasn't directly in contact with Jacob's supernatural heat. She felt the bike slow down until it stopped completely. Bella slowly loosened her grip on Jacob and opened her eyes. They were back at the house already, she hadn't even realised. She had been enjoying the impromptu joyride, until the weather had turned anyway.

"You okay?" Jacob asked in concern as he slipped off the bike and helped Bella to climb off too. He felt her shiver as more droplets of water fell onto her skin. "You're cold in that flimsy dress." Jacob unbuttoned his white shirt and took it off, wrapping it around Bella to ward off the chill. She smiled at him gratefully as she slipped her arms in the long sleeves and buttoned the shirt up. It was like a dress on her. She rolled up the sleeves and cinched the belt from her dress around her slim waist. "Better?" Jacob asked as he pulled her closer to his body so she could soak up his heat.

"Definitely." Bella sighed blissfully as she nestled against his warm chest. She loved the feel of his arms around her and could have happily fallen asleep right there. "That was a fun ride, Jake. Thanks for taking me."

"You're welcome." Jacob said huskily as he smoothed down her tangled hair. "I just wish we didn't have to go back to the party, but I must check on my dad."

"I know we can't avoid things forever." Bella replied, her voice was full of regret. Jacob could hear it. He froze as he wondered what she meant. Was she thinking about having to face Edward, or was it worry over having to reject him again. He didn't want to ask her what she was referring to, but he really couldn't go back to the Cullen's mansion only for her to walk away from him. Bella pulled back when he didn't respond and looked at him curiously. The comforting haze from the drink she had consumed was now wearing off. "What's wrong?"

"I need to know what happens when we get back to the party." Jacob swallowed thickly as he braced himself for her answer.

"You wanted to check on your dad, and I should really catch up with my parent's. They're probably wondering where the hell we've gone." A small smile crossed her lips which disappeared just as quickly when she saw him frown. "Am I missing something here?"

"Are you really going to make me say it?" Jacob demanded. Bella just carried on gazing up at him; she really did seem clueless as to what he was trying to ask her. He sighed, pulling her close again while he finally said the words he had been avoiding all day. "What about Edward, Bells? You were on the verge of marrying him. What are you going to do when you get back to the party?"

"Edward." Two spots of red bloomed on Bella's cheeks as she said her fiancé's name. Her eyes wandered to the heavy ring which was still adorning her left hand. The myriad diamonds sparkled in the weak light. The time to make a decision was upon her, there was no avoiding it now. Bella slowly smiled as she slipped the ring off of her finger and shoved it in the top pocket of Jacob's shirt. There was no decision really, it had been made the moment he came back for her. She glanced up at Jacob; his handsome face was awash with relief. Bella's smile widened as she slipped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "I think it's time to give the ring back to him." She whispered.

* * *

Renee and Charlie were enjoying their third dance together. She rested her head on his shoulder as they swayed to the slow music. Jared had taken over as DJ now that Seth and Quil were out of the game. He sat on the stage with Kim perched on his knee as they rifled through the music, hunting for the most soppy music possible. Kim adored ballads and Jared would do anything to make his imprint happy. The Cullen's gardens were filled with dancing couples as the evening drew in. Lots of people had paired off and were enjoying the romantic atmosphere. Special lighting had been set up creating a cosy glow over the whole area and it only added to the excitement.

The sound of Renee's cell ringing startled her and Charlie. They stopped dancing as she fished around in her bag to find it. She frowned when she saw who the caller was. What did he want? Renee smiled at Charlie and motioned that she needed to answer the phone. Charlie told her he would go and get them some drinks while she talked. Renee waited until she thought he was out of earshot before answering her cell.

"What is it?"

" _How much did you take, Renee?"_

"I filled the flask up and put some in a small bottle. Why all the fuss?" She asked irritably.

" _They're gone."_

"Gone? But that's impossible. I promise I only took enough to calm Bella's nerves and a little for myself."

" _Someone must have taken them, and I can guess who." The caller wailed._

Renee's eyes flicked to the drink's table as she saw Jacob's friends sprawled across the ground or wrapped around some of the female guests. She gulped as she noticed the familiar dark, brown bottles littering the tables. "I think you may be right." She whispered. "Oh god, some of the guests have been drinking it too." She saw Mike Newton with a brown bottle in his hand, he was singing bawdy songs to himself and she was sure she heard him utter her daughter's name.

" _This is a catastrophe." The caller groaned. "I must get there and get the rest of the stash before anyone else drinks it."_

"I'll try and gather up as many as I can see." Renee promised. "But you should hurry."

" _I'm on my way." The caller promised._

* * *

Jacob and Bella used the bike to ride back to the Cullen's mansion. The night was drawing in. The heavens above were awash with red as the sun began to sink below the horizon. The rain had eased off and now she was wrapped up in Jacob's shirt Bella felt much warmer. She smiled as he helped her off the bike. "Such a gentleman." She teased.

"Don't get used to it, Swan." Jacob retorted happily. He couldn't keep the grin off of his face. Nothing could upset him now. Bella was not going back to Cullen; the infamous wedding was not going to take place. This was all beyond his wildest dreams. He loved seeing Bella dressed in his shirt and smiling wickedly at him. Her beautiful brown eyes were glowing with mischief as she tugged him toward the mansion. She was definitely up to something.

* * *

Leah waited pensively for her mother to respond to her news. Sue's eyes were wide as she sat down heavily in one of the chairs. Billy quickly patted her hand in comfort. "Mom, say something, anything, please?"

"This can't happen." Sue glanced sideways at Billy. She couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Well it has." Leah felt hurt by her mother's reaction. She wanted Sue to hug her and congratulate her on finding happiness again. Why couldn't she just do that? Why was she just sitting there looking perplexed and anxious?

"I don't want you to get hurt." Sue finally said. "Whatever Sam told you he doesn't mean it, he can't. He is imprinted with Emily." Sue saw a wretched look cross Leah's face and she grabbed her beloved daughter's hands in hers. "I know you still love him, Lee, but I won't see you fall apart again because of him."

"He loves me, I've seen inside his head, his wolf didn't fight it, and that is all the confirmation I needed to know he is being genuine. I saw the way he looked at me, I believe in our love. It was always there. Emily just got in the way. My Sam is back and I am not going to let him go again. I deserve to be happy." Leah defended herself stoutly.

"Oh, Lee of course you deserve happiness…." Sue rose to her feet and hugged her daughter fiercely. "I'm your mother, I will always worry."

"You said you saw inside his head?" Billy asked curiously. As far as he understood it, as Sam was the Alpha he was able to block the others from seeing inside his mind, he only shared what he wanted the others to see.

"Yes, I saw everything. He hid nothing from me." Leah studied Billy warily. "You don't believe me?"

"Oh, I believe you." Billy promised with a ghost of a smile. He had just caught sight of a familiar figure skulking in the shadows near the drink's table. "Excuse me ladies, I just need to have a word with someone."

Sue and Leah watched in stunned silence as Billy wheeled his chair away through the crowd toward the trestle tables covered in food.

* * *

Old Quil pulled out his knapsack and began to load it up with as many of the brown bottles as he could find _. Damn young Quil's thieving hands_. His foolish grandson had taken what he thought was his hidden stash of moonshine. He leaned heavily on his stick as he forced his old limbs to shuffle across the ground. He would have brought some of his relatives to help him, but then he would have to explain what the hell he was doing. No, no one must know about this, ever. The elder wasn't best pleased he had to dip into his savings to get a taxi to bring him here. He must not be seen. He looked left and right as he moved among the tables, grabbing at any of the bottles he could find. None of the guests who saw him took any notice of the bent old man with the white hair tied back loosely at the nape of the neck, leaning on a stick. They were too busy having fun.

The elder counted the bottles he had managed to salvage and groaned as he realised how many had already been drunk. This was terrible. This wasn't supposed to have happened, and all because he had been trying to do a good thing. He saw Renee dancing with her ex, Charlie Swan. It seemed the drink had worked for her, he wondered if the Chief of Police had imbibed some too, Charlie did look unsteady on his feet. Old Quil could see that his idiot grandson had drunk far too much of the stuff. There was some mad girl clinging to him as they danced around in circles. Quil was looking a little green. _Served him right!_ That boy was going to be punished for eternity for what he had done. Old Quil's rheumy eyes scanned the immediate area as he hunted around for Bella and Jacob; this had been for their benefit after all. He finally caught sight of them near the stage. Jacob was helping Bella climb up. The elder continued to watch anxiously as Bella stumbled around until she found the microphone. There was a horrific screeching noise as she fiddled with it. A collective groan went through the crowd as they all turned toward the stage; she had certainly got the guests attention. Bella giggled before clearing her throat.

"Sorry!" Bella called out. Everyone was staring at her curiously. Old Quil saw her cheeks turn red as she smiled sheepishly. "Um….I…um…well I'm not very good at speeches." Bella continued breathlessly. "So I'm going to keep this speech very short. I want to thank you all for coming to the wedding, even if it didn't happen, but um…well I want you all to know that um…well things have changed. I want to introduce the man…yes man… real man…not a cold…um…." She paused when she saw Jacob shake his head warningly. "Oh, okay then." She blustered. "Well I want to introduce you to the warm blooded hottie who has stolen my heart, JACOB EPHRAIM BLACK!"

A big cheer went up although the gathered guests had no real idea of what was really going on. Jacob ran up onto the stage, a big grin on his face as he took Bella's hand and kissed it. Bella flushed red as she giggled nervously. "Now I am going to sing…" She announced.

Old Quil's jaw dropped as Bella began to serenade Jacob; she batted her eyelashes at him as she crooned a bad version of _Crazy in Love_. The elder was beginning to feel faint. The concoction had been more potent then he thought. He managed to find a spare chair and he eased his bulk into it as he continued stare toward the stage. He was totally unaware that someone had found him out.

"Quil." The elder jumped as he turned to see Billy Black looking at him with a stern expression on his face. "I didn't expect to see you here."

 _ **A/N-thanks for reading! Thoughts please….**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews!**_

 **Part Nine**

"Billy, Billy." Old Quil smiled nervously as he hugged his knapsack to his chest, he winced as the bottles clinked inside. He saw Billy's eyes wander to the bag and he coughed to try and distract him.

"You alright, Quil?" Billy asked as he reached across and patted the elder on the back.

"Yes, yes, just old age creeping up on me." Old Quil grimaced as the bottles hit each other again. Darn it, he hadn't meant to run into anyone. How had Billy even spotted him lurking in the shadows?

"What's in the bag, Quil?" Billy asked. He could see the old man was looking very shifty indeed; he was clutching the bag for dear life. "You didn't come all this way to raid the Cullen's cellar did you?"

"How dare you?" Old Quil huffed indignantly. "If you must know I am here to retrieve what's mine."

Comprehension finally dawned on Billy. "Oh, you mean the moonshine young Quil brought with him. I think you're too late." He motioned over his shoulder toward the rowdy crowd who were now clapping along to Bella's awful singing, probably to drown her out. He had thought Quil and Seth had sounded bad, but Bella beat them hands down. "Lahote spiked the punch with it. Most of the guests have already drunk some, as well as the perpetrator of the crime. Your grandson is engaged now, did you know?"

"WHAT?!" Old Quil spluttered as he dropped his bag onto the ground. His face drained of colour. "You must be joking with me, surely?"

"Nope." Billy was getting a kick out of seeing the old man's reaction. Old Quil rarely shared his stash of moonshine, preferring to keep it all to himself, even on special occasions. It was not the first time young Quil had been bribed to take a bottle or two from his grandfather's collection. "It seems the drink gave young Quil the courage he needed to propose to his soul mate. Lovely girl, a bit clingy from what I can see, has bad fashion sense and a loud voice, and probably nags quite a bit. But I think she'll fit in just right with your lot. Don't you?"

"This is not funny, Billy Black." Old Quil was horrified at the thought that half of Forks and the pack had imbibed the potent solution. No wonder everyone was acting crazy. You were only supposed to drink a little, not bottles and bottles of it. The elder groaned as he rubbed a hand over his face. "Have you had any?" He asked Billy cautiously.

"A little and so has Sue. Charlie had two bottles to himself and Renee, well look at them. The drink has brought them together too." Billy pointed to the formerly estranged couple who were still wrapped around each other, dancing to some non-existent music. They didn't seem to be aware that their daughter was up on stage warbling badly into Jacob's ear. Billy wondered how his son's sensitive ears were taking the strain. It must be love if he could stand that. "Love is definitely in the air tonight, everyone has paired off, and the most interesting news of all, Sam and Leah are supposedly back together."

"Sam and Leah?" Old Quil echoed faintly. "How could that be possible?" The knapsack weighed heavily in his hands as he stared at Billy.

"I was hoping you could explain that." Billy peered at the elder astutely. He could tell that Old Quil was hiding something.

"How would I know?" Old Quil said defensively.

"Come on, I wasn't born yesterday." Billy pressed. "What is really in those bottles and don't tell me its moonshine, even you wouldn't come tearing down here for that."

Old Quil felt cornered. A hunted expression crossed his face as he grabbed the bag again and held it tightly to his chest. "I have no idea what you mean." He blustered. "Now if you'll excuse me I need to have a word with my idiot grandson." The elder shuffled off as quickly as possible in young Quil's direction.

Billy watched him go as he held up the bottle he had discreetly nabbed from Old Quil's knapsack while the old man had been occupied staring at the guests. He held it up under the dim light and peered closely at the cloudy liquid whirling about inside. "What have you been up to Quil?" He said under his breath.

* * *

"CRAZY IN LOVE…." Bella was running out of breath as she yelled out the lyrics at full pelt. She was having a blast and the guests were obviously enjoying the show, they were singing along too, in fact they were nearly drowning her out. Thankfully she had the microphone, she shouted louder, beaming at Jacob as she did so. She didn't see him wince a few times when her voice was particularly off key.

"Give a big cheer for Bella Swan!" Jacob suddenly said as she came to the end of the chorus. Bella blushed vociferously as he took her hand and made her bow to the audience who were cheering her and calling her name. Jacob let out a huge sigh of relief. His poor ears couldn't take anymore. Who knew that Bella's normally sweet voice could sound so terrible when she sang? He must make sure never to encourage her to sing again.

"Oh Jakey, that was awesome, wasn't it? I could make a career out of singing, what do you think?" Bella jumped up and down excitedly. Adrenaline was pumping through her, giving her another energy boost and chasing away the tiredness.

"You are having a laugh." Jared called out. Kim had put on another ballad. She took Jared's socks out of her ears which she had used to block out Bella's singing. She climbed back on her imprint's lap and giggled as he did quite a good impression of Bella's awful voice.

Bella's face drained of colour. She dropped the microphone, making it screech loudly as it hit the stage. Tears sprang to her eyes as she quickly darted off down the stairs. She was utterly mortified. Jacob glared at his pack brother before hurrying after her. He became annoyed when he lost her in the sea of bodies which were crowded around the stage. He used his unique sense of smell to follow her scent as he barged through the throng, not caring as some of them shouted at him irritably.

* * *

Old Quil managed to prise Renee away from Charlie long enough to talk to her. "I thought you were going to collect some of the bottles." He complained in a low voice. "Billy caught me and is asking questions."

"Sorry." Renee said distractedly. Her eyes were on Charlie as he stumbled toward the tables to refresh their drinks. She didn't even notice her husband, Phil, who was standing in the shadows glaring at her ex.

"What have you been telling people about the drink you gave to Bella?" Old Quil whispered fiercely as he tapped her on the shoulder to regain her attention.

"I told them what we agreed, that it was an old family recipe given to me by my grandmother." Renee saw the elder frown. "It was your idea in the first place. This was payback for giving it to me at my wedding just because you wanted to get one over on Greta." She reminded him. "You owed me. I wanted to calm Bella's nerves that's all. How was I to know that your grandson would take the other bottles and bring them here? You can't blame me for this."

"Charlie's mother was a pain in my ass. Someone needed to put her in her place." Old Quil grumbled. "And it boosted your confidence didn't it. It worked for you, you had Bella, you had Charlie and you made sure that old harridan wouldn't interfere in your marriage."

"What happened between you and Greta to make you such bad enemies?" Renee asked curiously. "You never did tell me."

"None of your beeswax young lady." The elder stated pompously. "Now I have to go and do damage control and try and rescue my idiot grandson from an ill-fated fake marriage." Old Quil veered off in the direction of young Quil.

Renee sighed heavily as she hunted around for Charlie, he had been gone an age, he was only supposed to be getting some drinks. She headed off in the direction she had last seen him as she tried to track him down.

* * *

"This one?" Alice twirled around for the umpteenth time. This was the forty fifth time she had changed. She couldn't get over the fact that everyone had laughed at her hideous bridesmaid dress.

Jasper sighed as he tried to look ecstatic. "Yes, everyone will love it. Can we go outside now?" He begged.

Alice's expression froze and her eyes darkened. Damn it she was having another vision. Jasper watched as she pouted again and began to rip off the sheer blue dress she had on. "No, they'll laugh at this too." She muttered as she headed back into her walk in wardrobe and rooted around for yet another outfit.

Jasper groaned in resignation as he closed his eyes in irritation.

* * *

Edward pushed Tanya off of his lap. Really this was getting utterly ridiculous. The Denali coven was refusing to leave the marquee. They kept complaining endlessly about the smell emanating from the wolf pack. Garrat was perched on one of the chairs, his feet on the table as he aimed rolled up napkins at the wedding cake. His aim was perfect. Eleazar had her fur stole covering her nose as she exaggerated about the horrific stench coming from outside. Carlisle and Esme were a frazzled mess as they soothed Carmen's nerves as she pitched a fit at all the chaos. Tanya had been hanging off Edward for hours now. He'd had to listen as she gabbled on about how suited they were and what an amazing life they could have together if only he would let the little pale faced weakling go. Edward had reached his limit. He stood up and glared at Tanya who was pouting like a little girl.

"I am off to find Bella. Excuse me." He stated coldly. He strode off quickly before Tanya could grab hold of him again.

* * *

Bella sniffed miserably as she hid behind the marquee. She felt so embarrassed. The crowd wasn't cheering because she was good, no she was downright awful. So much for trying to do something crazy and letting herself go, all she had achieved was making a fool of herself. She heard voices coming from inside the tent but ignored them. She was too busy feeling sorry for herself.

"Bella, oh thank god." She was shocked by the sound of Edward's voice. She stiffened when he appeared out of the darkness in front of her. His white face looked ghostly in the dim light as he held out his arms to embrace her. "Come love, let's get out of here." He peered down at her and saw the tracks of tears on her face. "Has the dog upset you?" His lips thinned. "You should never have let him…."

"Shut up, Eddie." Bella snapped, she was irked by his patronising tone and insulting manner. "Stop calling those I love names."

"Those you love?" Her words brought him up short. "I am the one you love."

Bella sighed heavily. She fumbled around in the top pocket of Jacob's shirt and pulled out the ornate engagement ring. She held it out to him. "This belongs to you." She said sorrowfully. Bella placed it in his open palm and closed his fingers around it. "I'm sorry, Eddie."

"But I don't understand." Edward stared at her in agony. His golden eyes were fixated on the hand which held his mother's ring.

"Yes you do." Bella whispered. She stepped away from him and began to walk around the marquee, more tears spilled from her eyes, but they were ones of relief. In the end, after everything there had not been much to say.

"Bells." Jacob's voice startled her. She paused as she watched him come into the light. She couldn't tell by his expression what he was thinking. She saw him swallow thickly. "You told him." So he had heard. Bella hung her head to hide her tears. He didn't need to see her cry. "Are you okay?" He asked softly.

"Yes and no." Bella mumbled.

"C'mere." Jacob held out his arms and Bella walked into them. She nestled against his chest and let him comfort her.

 _ **A/N-thanks for reading! Mmmmm…what next?**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thank you very much for the kind reviews!**_

 **Part Ten**

The night eventually came to an end. The guests began to tire, the food and drink ran out, and the weather had taken a turn for the worse. It began to rain heavily, which finally put an end to the party. The guests began to head home, most of them worse for wear. A fleet of taxi's arrived to take the frazzled partygoers away, and soon the Cullen's place was virtually empty. Renee had found Charlie; she was alarmed to find her new husband and her ex exchanging fisticuffs as they fought stupidly. Neither of them was hitting their target, both of them were drunk, as was Renee herself. She felt her head spinning as she wobbled over to them. "Stop this."

"Don't interfere, Ren." Charlie called out. "I am defending your honour."

Renee rolled her eyes as she saw Charlie hit out at Phil and miss completely. He staggered forward, bumping into her husband instead. Both men toppled over and hit the dirt. "Really." Renee peered down at them. Phil was holding his head and groaning, while Charlie had flopped onto his back. "Perhaps you should have attempted this when you were both sober. Although," Renee leaned down and touched Charlie's cheek softly, "I am happy that you wanted to defend my honour."

Charlie beamed up at her as he blinked owlishly. "Did I win?" He asked.

"Not in the way you imagined, but yes." Renee glanced at her husband. Phil scrambled to his feet as he shot her a look of disgust. "Phil, I…"

"Don't say anything." Phil stated coldly. "You two deserve each other. I'm getting out of here."

Renee watched her younger husband stagger off into the night with his hand holding the side of his head. She thought she would be upset, she knew she should be upset, but really she was the total opposite. She looked down at Charlie again; he was still smiling like someone who had won the lottery. Well maybe they both had. "Need help?" She offered him her hand.

Charlie took it and instead of getting up he pulled Renee down with him so she ended up lying on his chest. "That's better." He declared.

Renee giggled as she leaned up a little so she could kiss him.

* * *

Old Quil had managed to prise his grandson away from the mad girl long enough to talk to him. The strange girl hovered in the background, whining and pouting like a spoiled toddler who'd had its favourite toy taken away. "Where did you get her from?" The elder whispered irritably.

Quil looked blearily toward the girl with the long, curly black hair and very red lips. She had awful fashion sense, he didn't even like to imagine how much the overtight red dress had cost her, or how she had even managed to squeeze her delectable curves into it, but she had grown on him over the last few hours. "Jess, her name is Jess." He mumbled as he gave her a silly wave. Jessica nearly fell apart as she blew him a kiss and giggled when he pretended to catch it.

Old Quil watched them in disgust. Did these young people have no decorum? He yanked on his grandson's arm. "What's this about you being engaged?"

"Yeah, Jess proposed and I said yes." Quil was so out of it he couldn't remember the finer points of what had happened.

"Will you snap out of this, Quil Ateara." The elder clicked his fingers in front of Quil's face.

"Yessss ssssireee!" Quil pretended to salute his grandfather and laughed like a loon when Old Quil glared at him. He then waved Jessica over. "Come here sweetheart and meet my ole' grandpa!"

Jessica squealed in delight and tottered over to them. She took the elder's hand and bowed as if he was some type of royalty. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Old Bill." She blushed profusely when young Quil winked at her and threw his arm across her shoulders.

"My name is Quil." Old Quil huffed indignantly.

"Quil?" Jessica looked between Old Quil and his grandson. "Two Quilly's for the price of one!" She smiled in delight and took the elder's hands in her own and tried to get him to dance with her as she sang his name at the top of her voice. Quil was grinning like a fool as he watched Jessica whirl around with the gobsmacked elder.

"Oh my!" Old Quil sighed heavily as he swayed along with the odd girl.

* * *

Paul Lahote and Embry Call carried a comatose Seth between them. The youngest wolf had imbibed far too much drink and had fallen into a drunken stupor. Sue shook her head in disbelief at her son as she examined him carefully to make sure he was physically okay. "He's going to have a huge hangover in the morning, but he seems fine." She glanced at Paul and Embry who were both yawning. "Will you two goons stay awake long enough to carry him home?"

"S'pose so." Paul hefted Seth up higher and motioned for Embry to follow as they headed back to La Push with their heavy burden.

"Unbelievable." Sue watched them go, still shaking her head.

"He's young, Sue." Billy reminded her. "It's a rite of passage to have a hangover."

"Damn moonshine." Sue cursed under her breath. "It seems to be affecting everyone."

Billy discreetly touched the brown bottle he had snagged from Old Quil. He had hidden it under his shirt when he had come across Sue again. Leah had left the party early to go and meet up with Sam after she had received a text from him. All the revellers had gone now, although Billy still hadn't managed to track down his own son or Bella. Well he was sure that Jacob would turn up eventually. He was big enough to look out for himself. Billy reached out and took Sue's hand tenderly in his own. "Perhaps we should head home now. The party is well and truly over here." He looked at her meaningfully.

Sue caught his look and hesitantly placed her hand in his. She had to admit she liked the warm feel of his fingers lacing with hers. "Yes, let's go home." She agreed softly as her intense gaze met his.

* * *

Bella had finally got over her crying fit. She blew her nose loudly and dabbed under her eyes. "Well that's it then." She mumbled.

Jacob watched her with a pensive expression. What did she mean, that's it? Was she regretting her rash decision to give the ring back? Was she regretting letting him lead her astray? Was she….he was pulled out of his frantic thoughts by the feel of Bella's fingers curling around his. "Huh?" He blinked a couple of times as he tried to calm down his inner anxieties.

"Whatever you're thinking, Jacob Black, don't!" Bella smiled at him weakly. "I can see your brain whirring looking for the downside. Don't do what I always do. You have nothing to be worried about anymore."

"I don't?" Jacob said cautiously. He knew Bella was still suffering the effects of the concoction she had drunk and he wasn't sure whether he should allow his guard down completely. She seemed sincere, her eyes were shining with love and affection, but would this all vanish by the morning when she sobered up.

"It's all worked out just as it should." Bella replied softly as she stood on her tiptoes and tried to reach his lips. Jacob felt a shiver of anticipation run down his spine as he wallowed in the feel of her sweet breath ghosting across his skin. Bella's lips grazed his, which was literally torment for him. He wanted to gather her in his arms and kiss her until she couldn't breathe, but he needed to let her initiate this. He didn't want her accusing him in the morning of taking advantage. No her memory needed to be intact on the point where she took the step to kiss him. Jacob didn't lower his head, instead he waited and waited for her to close the gap and press her mouth onto his. But like everything in his life nothing came easy. Just as he felt Bella lean against him so she could reach higher, they were interrupted.

"Hey, Jake, there you are." Jacob groaned at the sound of his Alpha's voice. He had been so close. He watched as Bella frowned and glanced around him at Sam Uley.

"What the hell, Sam?" Jacob complained as he turned round. He stopped short when he saw Uley's arm strung across Leah's shoulders. So it was still on then. He forgot all about his resentment as he took in how happy Sam and Leah looked. Uley was smiling; Jacob didn't think he had ever seen him do that, well not a genuine one anyway. He felt Bella brush past him as she stumbled toward the new couple.

"Wow, you're beaming." Bella declared in wonder as she examined Sam's face carefully. "Jakey, look." She waved her hand in Sam's face nearly poking him in the eye.

"Jeez, she reeks of booze." Leah pretended to gag at the smell as Bella peered at her face too.

"I'm drunk on love." Bella giggled and sighed happily as she went back to Jacob and flung her arms around his neck. "SO ARE YOU, SO IS EVERYBODY!" She laughed again, pressing her face into Jacob's chest when a whoozy feeling made her head spin.

Jacob wrapped his arms around Bella to keep her upright as she kept giggling to herself. "Is this on then, with you two?" He checked.

Leah and Sam exchanged an affectionate glance. "Yeah." Sam said huskily as he leaned down to kiss Leah. "And it's all thanks to you, Jake." He chuckled when he saw Jacob's confused expression. "You don't know do you?"

"Know what?" Jacob demanded.

"You'll find out. Night Jake, night Bella." Sam and Leah burst out laughing at Jacob's bemused face before they wandered off back into the trees.

 _ **A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thank you for the kind reviews and for following this story.**_

 **Part Eleven**

 **The morning after the night before;**

The next day dawned sunny and bright, but very cold. For once there were no clouds in the sky, frost made the grass shimmer in the light from the sun creating a halo effect. Bella's eyes flickered open and she immediately regretted it as the brightness hit her pupils, stabbing like knives. She moaned and rolled onto her side, suddenly hitting a sold wall of flesh as she did so. "Ow." She flopped onto her back and held her forehead in her hand. Bella's head was hammering as if the seven dwarfs were inside her skull hitting it rhythmically with their axes. She swallowed thickly and felt even worse; her throat was dry and sore. "Oh." She groaned again.

"Bells, Bella…." She cracked one eye open when she heard Jacob's husky tones. Immediately in her line of sight was the wall of flesh she had accidentally hit, it was his broad chest. A very inviting chest, his russet skin was smooth and oh so tempting, if the dwarves would just lay off hitting her head she would have run her hands all across his delectable muscles. "Bells." He said again.

"My head hurts." Bella whined as she sighed heavily and tried to sit up. That was a bad move. Her head began to spin and she felt like the world had tilted. "Jacob, help me." A warm hand caressed her forehead, massaging it gently. Bella sighed as the hammering eased somewhat. She felt Jacob gently push her back down on the bed, still rubbing her head lightly, keeping the incessant pounding to a minimum. "Thank you." She whispered gratefully.

"You're welcome." Jacob's voice sounded amused.

Bella forced both eyes to open so she could look up at him. His face hovered above her; he was smiling, his dark eyes gleaming with mischief. "Why am I the only one who feels like a boiled cabbage?" She mumbled. Her throat felt horrible.

"You don't look like one at least." Jacob laughed softly. "Do you want some water?"

Bella nodded, but regretted it because the hammers in her skull upped their tempo. "Oh." She groaned again, pulling one of the pillows over her head. It suddenly occurred to her she didn't know where she was or whose bed she was in. She pulled the pillow away again and dared to peek around the room. The purple walls gave her the first clue that she was in her old room in Forks, but how come Charlie had let Jacob stay with her. In fact she didn't even remember getting here. Vague memories assaulted her tired mind, but she couldn't quite capture them. "Jake, did you bring me home?" She asked cautiously.

"I sure did." Jacob winked at her. "And you sang all the way." He chuckled as she stared at him in confusion. "Please tell me you remember some things." There was a hint of worry behind the question, even in her frazzled state Bella could hear it.

"I do. I remember giving the ring back." Bella tried to smile but moaned again when her mouth wouldn't co-operate. Nausea welled in her gut. "Jakey, I think I'm going to be s…"

Jacob was already prepared. He lifted her up, pulled her hair back from her face as he held a bowl under her chin. He grimaced as Bella retched a couple of times as the mysterious concoction she had consumed emptied out of her system.

* * *

At the Ateara house young Quil was just beginning to stir from the most restful sleep he had ever had. He yawned widely as he sleepily tried to get an annoying bit of hair off of his face. He kept rubbing at his cheek, it was so damn irritating, it felt like a spider web. Suddenly he was jerked completely into consciousness by the sound of deep snoring. Someone lying behind him was drawing in a huge breath, and then letting it out again, creating a horrid rumbling effect. Poor Quil's sensitive ears couldn't take the strain. He opened his eyes warily; he was lying on his side facing the far wall. From what he could see he was in his own room, so who the hell was it lying behind him in his own bed making that hideous noise? Quil was a wolf, he had battled vampires, seen things no man his age would even begin to fathom, and he was strong, confident. Nothing ever fazed him, but for some odd reason he felt leery about turning his head to find out what insane creature had decided to take up residence in his king size bed.

Before he could pluck up the courage to turn around there was another snore joining the loud pig like noises just behind him. This was a much gentler sound, and if he was right it was coming from a female? The twin snores competed against each other. The loud pig like grunt would reach a loud crescendo, and then become silent as the perpetrator inhaled deeply, then the more feminine version kicked in. Young Quil felt like he was going insane. He was dreaming this surely?

 _Spirits in the sky please wake me up from this bizarre dream. Am I tripping?_ Did _I smoke something last night I shouldn't have done?_ Quil prayed in his head. He really couldn't remember much. His throat felt parched and his head felt fuzzy and full of cotton wool. The snores were making his ears ring, as much as he didn't want to young Quil knew he had to man up, turn around and face whatever monsters had dared to crawl into his bed. Taking a deep breath to give himself some courage, he sat up and glanced over his shoulder.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Quil yelled out as he leapt out of bed in horror, clutching his duvet across his body.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Young Quil's screams woke his grandfather who was lying beside him in the bed. It had been his long hair which had been tickling Quil's face and his loud pig like snores which had hurt his ears. The elder sat up, his eyes wide as he stared around the room blearily.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jessica Stanley, who had been lying on the other side of Old Quil, shrieked loudly as she stared at young Quil and Old Quil, who were both staring back at her. Her long, curly black hair was like a frizzy fuzz around her head, her makeup was smeared across her face and she didn't realise how scary she looked with her blood red lips opened wide as she kept screaming.

Old Quil felt faint. He blinked a couple of times in disbelief as his ears rang with Jessica's screams. He suddenly felt very whoozy indeed. Black spots appeared before his eyes right as he fainted with shock, his head dropping straight into Jessica's lap.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

"UP, UP, UP, SETHY. IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!" Leah trilled as she yanked open the curtains in her brothers room, letting in the bright light. She grinned wickedly as she watched her brother curl up into a ball and groan wretchedly. Was it awful that she was getting a kick out of seeing her sibling suffer with the worst hangover ever? Of course it was. She began to sing loudly, causing Seth to moan in pain.

"Knock it off, Lee Lee." He whined pathetically.

"KNOCK IT OFF, LEE LEE." Leah screeched.

"Aww give the kid a break, Lee." Was that Sam? Seth forced his eyes to open, squinting in agony as the bright light hit them. What was his Alpha doing here? He wasn't up for a lecture.

"I'm ill." He mumbled. "Can't patrol."

"You're not getting out of it that easily, little brother." Leah laughed as she grabbed his arms and tried to haul him out of bed.

"Noooooo!" Seth fought her but felt too weak. "Please Sam." He begged. "Let someone else do my patrol today."

Sam chuckled as he winked at Leah. "Not my business anymore, Seth." He ruffled the younger boy's hair playfully.

"I don' understand." Seth gazed blearily at his sister and Sam. Why were they together in his room and why were they both smiling like idiots? Neither of them ever smiled. Seth's brain felt too much like mush to work it out.

"You'll find out, go speak to Jacob." Sam chuckled again as Seth dived back into bed and pulled his duvet over his head. He didn't witness the passionate kiss that Sam planted on his sister, which was fortunate as the poor young wolf was having enough trouble tackling his first ever hangover.

* * *

Bella had a long, hot shower. The water felt soothing as it hit her parched skin. She closed her eyes under the streaming water and let it ease the ache in her head. Despite feeling like shit she couldn't be unhappy about anything. Yesterday had been, well, it had been an eye opener in every respect. Today she should have woken up a married woman, but instead she was still free, and had spent the night next to an awesomely sexy wolf boy, not that she technically remembered sleeping next to Jacob of course, but it was certainly a lot better waking up next to his beautiful face and hot body than Edward's ice cold….her good mood vanished as she thought about her former fiancé. Bella knew she was going to have to talk to him again. A drunken goodbye and the return of his ring had been a bit harsh. She felt guilt swamp her. Edward at least deserved a proper goodbye.

"You done in there, Bells?" Jacob called through the bathroom door. She had been in the shower for ages and he was worried that she might have fainted in there.

"I'm coming." Bella called back. She turned off the water and hurried out, grabbing a warm towel and drying herself off quickly. When she was done she pulled on her dressing gown and emerged from the bathroom. Jacob was waiting for her with a hot mug of coffee in one hand a plate of toast in the other. "You made me breakfast?" Bella nearly swooned. No one had done that for her before. Edward never ate.

"Well technically no, your mom made it. But I did bring it up to you." Jacob flashed her an adorable grin.

It took Bella a moment to realise what he had said. "My mom's here?" She asked in confusion.

"Um…about that." Jacob handed her the mug of coffee and steered Bella toward her bedroom again. "There's something you should know about her and Charlie…."

 _ **A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thanks for the kind reviews!**_

 **Part Twelve**

Bella munched on her toast and stared at Jacob wide-eyed as he told her about Charlie and Renee's reunion. "I walked in on them exchanging some pretty intense PDA." He grimaced as he recalled walking into the kitchen and finding Bella's parents in a passionate embrace. It had been so cringe worthy. He had only wanted to get Bella some water and instead accidentally interrupted the oldsters doing their thing. Worse still both Renee and Charlie had acted like crazy kids, busting up laughing when they saw the shocked look on his face. Renee had actually reached up and pinched his rosy cheeks while Charlie was grinning like a mad person on crack. It was all so surreal and bizarre.

Crumbs fell down Bella's chin as she continued to eat het toast. "I can't believe it…ewwww."

"Ewww is the right word." Jacob shuddered. "After your mom pinched my cheeks and Charlie fell about laughing they made me sit down and listen in gory detail about their loved up reconciliation. I really didn't need to know that your dad has a thing for…." Jacob paused as he realised he was about to divulge some ultra-personal information. It was bad enough that he'd had to listen to it, but at least they weren't his parents. Poor Bella didn't need to know that part.

"My dad has a thing for what?" Bella finished her toast and gulped down the coffee which had cooled off a little.

"Oh nothing." Jacob shrugged. "How's the head?"

"Much better." Bella touched her forehead delicately. "The dwarves have stopped rampaging around my skull with their axes."

"Cool." Jacob grinned at her. "You look pretty by the way."

"I do?"

"Hell yeah." Jacob's eyes dropped to Bella's mouth. He saw her smile as he leaned in close. He was so longing to get a taste of those delectable lips of hers.

"BABY GIRL!" Jacob groaned as he heard Renee calling up to her daughter from the bottom of the stairs. "I expect Jakey boy told you the amazing news. Your dad wants to go out and celebrate."

Bella's face paled. Celebrate? Seriously? She had only just heard the news that her parents were reunited. She looked toward Jacob for rescue but he just sighed heavily and shrugged. "I don't think we're gonna be able to get out of this one."

"Oh god." Bella winced as she heard Renee and Charlie coming up the stairs, they were giggling and laughing together. "Save me!" She whispered to Jacob. But there was no time for him to carry out an impromptu rescue. Her parents burst into the room, all smiles and loving glances. "Mom, dad, is it true?" Bella asked cautiously.

"Oh it's true alright." Charlie slipped his arm around his former wife's waist and squeezed. "Your mother is an incredible woman, kiddo." He leaned across to kiss Renee causing Bella to put her hands over her eyes so she didn't have to witness the smooch. Really this was too much. Had they been taken over by aliens? Bella cringed even further when she heard the wet noises as their lips mashed together. She glanced sideways at Jacob who was looking extremely uncomfortable and trying to ignore the snogfest which was happening feet away. In fact he was feeling a little envious. He kept getting interrupted every time he tried to kiss Bella.

"Mom, dad, please?" Bella begged when her parents finally came up for air. "Kids in the room." She reminded them, pointing at herself and Jacob.

"Aww baby girl." Renee cooed as she winked at Charlie, pinching his bum before strolling over toward her daughter and kneeling in front of her. Bella's cheeks were burning with mortification. Her mom hadn't really just pinched her dad's ass had she? She was in the twilight zone, she was sure of it. "Me and your dad are just happy. Be pleased for us." She put on her baby voice, trying to get Bella to laugh at it all.

"What about Phil?" Bella pressed as she felt Jacob take her hand and squeeze it in comfort.

"Phil schmill." Renee turned her nose up. "I should never have married him. Not when I had this stud right here in Forks waiting for me." She turned and smiled wickedly at Charlie, who winked back at his ex-wife playfully.

"Enough with the PDA I can't take it." Bella put her hands over her eyes again.

Renee laughed as did Charlie. "We'll behave if you and Jake agree to come out and celebrate with us." Charlie promised. "What do you say, kiddo?"

"Alright, please just stop." Bella felt like she was going to combust, her whole face had turned a dark red.

Charlie laughed heartily and slapped Jacob on the back, wincing a little as his hand hurt from the contact. "Jeez, Jake." He shook his hand from the pain.

"Oh, did my little love bunny hurt himself?" Renee chirped as she got up and took Charlie's hand in hers, kissing his palm.

"It's alright my sexy kitten." Charlie glowed with all the affection he was receiving.

"Jake." Bella whispered as she watched her parents fawn all over each other.

"Yeah?" He whispered back.

"I think I'm going to be sick again." She confided.

"Me too. Pass me the bowl." Jacob begged.

* * *

Old Quil coughed and spluttered as his grandson and his other numerous relatives fanned the elder with anything they could find. He was having a hard time recovering from his shock awakening. It had all been a dream surely. He stared around; frightened that he might get a glimpse of the mad girl who had screamed like a banshee in his ear when first woke. Yes, it must have been a dream; he couldn't see the girl with the dark curly hair anywhere. He began to relax, convincing himself that he had fainted because of his over active imagination. Young Quil hunkered down in front of him as he passed his grandfather a glass of water.

"I thought you were dead." Quil junior blurted out unthinkingly.

"Well I'm not. No thanks to you." Old Quil retorted as he threw back his head and drained the glass.

"I didn't do anything." Quil junior complained as he snatched the glass back and glared at the old man resentfully. "It wasn't my fault you decided to come join me and my fiancée in my bed."

Old Quil's heart started to palpitate wildly. "Fiancée?" He said faintly.

"Yes, Jessica Stanley. She proposed last night remember and I said yes." Quil junior's eyes became misty as he spoke. "She's quite a girl, I know she has a loud voice, is very demanding and could do with learning how to pick a decent dress, but other than that she has a killer body, that hair, her smile, the way she walks, the way she does that thing with her…." He continued to wax lyrical about his new love.

Old Quil began to feel faint again. He hadn't been dreaming. "Whisky, get me some damn whisky." He ordered his flustered relatives. They immediately fanned out and began to carry out his orders while Quil Junior carried on telling his grandfather about the merits of Jessica's booty and her gorgeous lips. "And someone take this fool away from me." The elder demanded as one of his great nephews shoved the bottle of whisky in his hand. "I cannot take anymore."

Quil Junior was not impressed when his own mother practically shoved him out of the room and shut the door in his face. How rude? But all irritation left him as he saw the love of his life stepping out of the bathroom wrapped in one of Old Quil's fluffy towels, (the old man didn't like anything scratchy on his tender skin), and smiled sexily at him. Her curly hair was like a halo around her head and now she had washed the smeared make up from her face she looked less scary. Quil wolf whistled as he scooped Jessica up in his arms and carried her off to his bedroom, (making sure to lock the door after him, after all he didn't want his old grandfather getting in the way again).

* * *

Bella and Jacob felt it was like one of the longest celebratory lunches they had ever had to endure. It was mortifying from start to finish. Charlie and Renee couldn't keep their hands off of each other, they were like a couple of loved up teenagers, and it was absolutely disgusting. They attracted astonished looks in the diner from all the other patrons. They were shocked to see the normally reserved police chief smiling like a loon and practically fornicating with an equally mad woman right before their eyes. Jacob and Bella sank lower and lower in their seats as they tried to avoid the affectionate display in front of them and the eyes gazing at them in sympathy.

"Oh god this is torture." Bella hissed.

"Ugh, it's the flirty talk I can't cope with." Jacob whined.

"Yeah, like the stupid names they call each other…." Bella put her hands over her eyes again as her parents began to kiss yet again.

"Seriously, where did they come up with them…sexy kitten, love bunny…." Jacob pulled a face.

"The worst is sex dynamo." Bella hid her face in Jacob's broad shoulder. "Please get me out of here." She begged.

"With pleasure." Jacob decided he needed to take charge of the situation. He had saved Bella from all kinds of situations so he should be able to rescue her from her loved up mom and dad. He cleared his throat several times before Renee and Charlie took notice of him. They paused in their love fest long enough to look at him enquiringly. "I know my dad would love to hear the good news and celebrate with you both." Jacob suggested desperately. "Why don't we all leave here and head to La Push, huh?"

Charlie's face lit up. He turned and gazed adoringly at Renee. "What do you say, love button? Fancy taking this celebration on the road?"

"Anything you want sexy dude." Renee ran a finger along Charlie's moustache making him swoon in delight.

"Thank you." Bella whispered gratefully to Jacob. The sooner she got her embarrassing parents away from prying eyes the better.

* * *

Charlie nearly hit the front of the little redwood house as he pulled up outside the Black's. Renee had squeezed his knee and it had distracted him. Jacob and Bella breathed a sigh of relief when the car braked sharply and stopped. It had been a terrifying journey; Charlie was swerving all over the place because Renee wouldn't leave him alone. If he hadn't been in the cruiser, Bella was sure one of his deputies would have arrested him for dangerous driving. She glared at her parents as they fell out of the car, laughing together about god knows what.

"Once we've got them inside with my dad, we'll take off and get the hell out of here." Jacob whispered to Bella as they walked toward the front door.

"That's a bit unfair on your dad." Bella already felt sorry for Billy being stuck with her mad parents.

"At this point I don't care." Jacob muttered. As he unlocked the front door to let them all in he heard someone hailing him from a distance. He turned and glanced over his shoulder. He caught sight of Sam, Leah with Seth wobbling beside them as they strolled toward his house. What were they doing here? Wasn't Seth supposed to be patrolling right about now? He sighed heavily as he stepped aside to let Charlie and Renee enter first, then Bella. "Keep them under control while I talk with Sam and the others."

"I'll do my best." Bella muttered dubiously.

Jacob waited impatiently for Sam, Leah and Seth. By the way that Sam and Leah were ogling each other it appeared that they were as loved up as Bella's parents. He could smell the sexual tension between them a mile off. Seth seemed really out of it, his sister had to keep steering him in the right direction as he veered off all over the place. "Do you need something?" Jacob demanded.

"Nice to see you too." Leah arched her eyebrows at him.

"Look I've had a really trying morning." Jacob complained. He sighed when Sam and Leah just laughed at him. "Oh just come in." He waved them through. It looked like he wasn't going to be able to escape so easily for some alone time with Bella after all now they were here.

"We came over because we can't find mom. We wondered if she was with Billy." Leah said as she settled her hungover brother on the couch where Seth promptly fell asleep.

"Shouldn't he be out patrolling?" Jacob stared at Seth in disbelief.

"That's your problem now, not mine." Sam winked at him as he flung an arm across Leah's shoulders.

"What does that mean?" Jacob questioned. That wasn't the first time Sam had said that. His attention was caught when he heard Charlie and Renee giggling. Bella had turned red again, but this time Jacob didn't think it was from embarrassment. She seemed anxious as if she was about to tell him some news he might not like. "Bells?"

"Oh Jake look." Bella pointed to an empty brown bottle sitting on the kitchen table with two empty glasses beside it. She didn't need to say anymore, Jacob knew. His eyes travelled to the hallway when he heard the door to his dad's room open. Out shuffled Sue Clearwater along with Billy. They both looked dishevelled and were wearing sheepish smiles.

"MOM?" Leah gasped.

"Oh god." Jacob groaned as he hid his face in his hands.

 _ **A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Wedding Bells**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

 _ **A/N-thank you for the awesome reviews.**_

 **Part Thirteen**

"MOM!" Leah said again as she stared at Sue in horror.

"Hey, Lee." Sue smiled awkwardly as she smoothed down her messy hair and glanced at her son who was still fast asleep on the Black's couch. "Anything wrong?"

"Anything wrong!" Leah just kept gaping at her mother in disbelief. "You…him…I…we…ugh!" She threw up her hands and marched out of the house. Sam shrugged helplessly and rushed after her.

Jacob was staring at his dad who didn't seem fazed at all. Billy rolled his chair into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Anyone want a beer?" He said cheerfully as he took out a six pack and rested it on his lap.

Charlie and Renee who had thus far remained silent came to life again and hurried over to him. "I wouldn't mind." Charlie took one of the cans and passed one to Renee. "Sue?" He asked as he offered her one.

"Um…I think it's a little early to be indulging again." Sue bit down on her lip as she glanced toward the door where her daughter had just disappeared. "I'm thinking I might go after Lee and have a word…."

"Sue." Billy came up beside her and tugged on her hand until she sat down on one of the chairs. "Leah is old enough to deal with this. I think the younger generation forget we have needs too just like they do." His eyes swivelled to Jacob who was blinking rapidly as if he was trying to get his brain to recognise what was going on in front of him.

"Too true." Charlie agreed. "But I have to say Bells has been great today. I guess it was a shock but she handled it like a pro, didn't you, kiddo?" He raised his can to her.

"You are joking, right?" Bella suddenly blurted out. She couldn't keep her mortification under wraps anymore. She empathised with Leah completely. The olds were acting like none of this mattered, but it did, all of them randomly hooking up. Was this a onetime thing? Were her parents back together for good? What about Billy and Sue? It was crazy, all of it. Bella could see that Jacob was struggling too and Billy seemed to think it was no big deal.

"Baby girl?" Renee sounded puzzled. She studied her daughter warily. "Why must this be a joke?"

"Well, because." Bella was getting flustered under the scrutiny of all the adults.

"Because what?" Billy asked mildly as he drank his beer. "You think we're too old to have feelings, to have fun, that we should all remain lonely just so we don't embarrass the kids. Mmmm?"

"That's not what you think is it, Bells? Charlie questioned indignantly. "You seemed happy when you came out to lunch with us."

"I was….I am...but it's all the….the….ugh!" Bella sighed heavily as she ran out of words. She looked at Jacob for help. So far he had remained mute. "Jake, say something." She begged.

"I need a drink." Jacob muttered as he snatched one from his dad. He opened the can and chugged the beer down in one go without pausing for breath.

"Wow." Renee giggled. "Hey, Chuck, do you think you could do that?" She whispered to Charlie.

Chuck? Bella groaned internally again as she watched her father wink at her mother before putting his can to his lips. Bella counted in her head _, one two_ _three, here we go!_ Seconds later Charlie began to cough and splutter as he ran out of air. Billy laughed at his friend. He too tried to copy his son; he threw his head back and tried to drain the rest of the can. He lasted longer than Charlie but he soon began to cough. He hit his chest and a loud belch came out. This set all the others off laughing.

"Remember the days when we could do that, Chief?" Billy said when he had recovered his breath. "You, me and Harry, we really knew how to party in those days."

"We sure did, and the women too." Charlie agreed as he raised his eyebrows at Sue and Renee. "These youngsters have no idea of what we used to get up to." He pulled Renee on his lap and she caressed his cheek gently, smiling. "You remember, Ren?"

"Oh yes." Renee's eyes became misty as she joined in the reminiscing. "You remember that old club we used to go to with the huge dance hall. It was half derelict and draughty, but the dances, the music. You remember that one time that you and Harry got locked in the ladies when he followed you in there for a bit of a fondle." She reminded Sue Clearwater.

"How could I forget?" Sue rolled her eyes. "I can blame Billy and Sarah for that. They locked us in for a joke and then no one could get us out again. The whole thing was mortifying."

Jacob and Bella exchanged an embarrassed glance as their parents began to wax lyrical about the good old days. "I'm beginning to envy Seth sleeping through all this. _A bit of a fondle,_ oh my god."

"Did you hear my mom calling my dad Chuck?" Bella whispered.

"At least she didn't belch like my dad." The beer had no effect on Jacob whatsoever. He would have to drink some of that damn moonshine to get inebriated, just like Seth. He shot his pack brother a dark look. Seth was snoring now, his mouth was partially open and he was dribbling. "He should be out patrolling." He fumed. He was still trying to work out what Sam had been hinting at when he said it was no longer his problem. There was so much he didn't understand, especially what had been in that drink. "How do you feel?" He asked Bella. She had imbibed a lot of that concoction her mom had given her the day before, but she had barfed most if it up. She seemed okay.

"Apart from feeling sick at all the icky PDA and a mild headache, I'm good." Bella groaned as she watched her parents suck face again. Even Billy and Sue seemed about to get it on again, and she didn't think poor Jacob could suffer that too. "Maybe we should leave our parents to have fun here and just get out for a breath of fresh air. Perhaps we might run into Leah and Sam." She suggested.

"Good idea." Jacob glared at Seth again before interrupting the oldsters who were still reminiscing with each other. "Hey, Bells and I are…"

"Okay, have fun." Billy said as he waved them away.

"Yeah, see you later." Renee giggled as Charlie kissed her neck.

"Enjoy the fresh air, kiddo." Charlie winked at her before turning his attention back to his ex-wife.

"If you see Lee…." Sue smiled as Billy whispered intimately in her ear. "Just tell her I'll have a word later."

"Yeah right." Jacob muttered as he grabbed Bella's hand so they could make their escape.

* * *

Old Quil finished his bottle of whisky. He hadn't meant to drink the whole lot but the shock of waking up in-between his grandson and that mad girl was too much for his poor old heart. The elder felt very sorry for himself. Really the younger generation had no control, he thought to himself as he got up and swayed unsteadily on his feet. He used his walking stick to steady himself. The house was silent now. He had sent his numerous relatives away; they were getting on his last nerve lecturing him about his drinking. Really! He had lived longer than all of them put together. What did they know? Even his grandson had turned out to be a lightweight as far as drinking was concerned. That concoction shouldn't have put a wolf on its ass, no way. He was big, bad Old Quil, if he could take it, than so should his young counterpart.

The elder staggered out of the front room and made his way down the hall. He grimaced as he passed Quil juniors room. He heard his grandson laughing like an idiot and that mad girl giggling a load of nonsense. Really, did they have no decorum? Old Quil shook his head irritably as he forced his ancient legs to move faster until he was out of earshot. In his day they knew how to treat a lady. These young girls were far too impertinent these days; none of them were like the genteel ladies he used to romance. Back then it was frowned upon to even hold a young ladies hand when you were wooing her. The old man grumpily kept thinking about how much better it was in his youth when he reached the cellar. He fumbled with the keys attached to his belt and unlocked the heavy wooden door. It creaked just like his poor old bones when it opened.

Old Quil looked blearily left and right before he went in the cellar and made his way carefully down the stairs. He wanted to check the rest of his stash and count how many bottles remained. He turned on the small light when he reached the bottom of the stairs and edged toward the far wall. His head was swimming from all the whisky he had consumed. He managed to hunker down by leaning on his stick and reached out to pull a grate out of the wall. He peered inside the hole it had made and grinned when he saw the shiny brown bottles winking at him.

"He he." The elder laughed to himself as he reached in and pulled out one of the bottles. "Ah Greta, Greta." He mumbled, referring to Charlie Swan's mother. "You should never, ever have crossed paths with Old Quilly. My old dad was a medicine man and he knew his stuff." He chuckled before struggling back onto his feet. He gripped the brown bottle in his hand and made his way out of the cellar.

* * *

Jacob and Bella held hands as they wandered around aimlessly looking for Sam and Leah. They seemed to have vanished. Jacob couldn't even track them by their scent; they were wolves after all and knew how to avoid detection. It could only mean that his Alpha and Leah were enjoying some alone time. Jacob was desperate to have exactly that with Bella, but he was still worrying about what Sam had been referring to earlier and was desperate to question him. As far as Jacob knew no one was out patrolling which was another worry. He would have to sort that out..."NO!" He said aloud suddenly.

"What?" Bella was startled. Like him she had been lost in her own head and his sudden pronouncement had made her jump.

"I'm not going to worry about anything like that. Sam is in charge not me. He should be sorting out who patrols and who….what?" Jacob frowned when he noticed Bella avert her gaze.

"Nothing." Bella mumbled. She had a good inkling why Sam was no longer bothered and she was very surprised that Jacob hadn't worked it out yet. She hadn't brought it up before now because of the debacle with their parents.

"Bella." Jacob put one finger under her chin and raised her head so she was forced to look him in the eyes. "What are you not telling me?"

"Jake really?" Bella said in exasperation. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Not to me." Jacob replied defensively.

"Oh Jakey." Bella sighed as she took his hands in her own and smiled up at him with love in her eyes. "You're in charge. I think that last night, for whatever reason, you became the Alpha."

 _ **A/N-thanks for reading!**_


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